NIGEL SLATER’S ROAST CHICKEN WITH BASIL AND LEMON A fragrant everyday kind of roast for which you will need a fruity olive oil and a fine bird. Use lots of basil - the tougher-leaved variety is better - and a medium-dry white wine, one that you will drink with the roast.

Ingredients (Serves 2)
Roast chicken with basil and lemon
6 free-range chicken pieces, bone in
olive oil
2 juicy cloves of garlic
1 lemon
a large handful of basil leaves (about 30)
a glass of white wine

Season the chicken and put the pieces in a roasting tin. Pour over enough olive oil to moisten them and make a shallow pool in the tin.

Squash the garlic in its skin and tuck it in amongst the chicken. Squeeze the lemon over the chicken and drop the empty shells in, too.

Roast for 30 minutes in an oven preheated to 200 C/gas mark 6, then tear up the basil and toss it about a bit with the chicken. Return to the oven for 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven, pour the wine over the chicken, then put the roasting tin over a hot flame and let the wine bubble for a minute.

Eat with a few green salad leaves, such as Little Gem lettuce, to mop up the sticky, aromatic pan juices from your plate.