Roast Chicken with Sweet & Spicy Anchovy Butter

When it comes to a winter-warming recipe that the whole family will enjoy, you can't beat this one! The saltiness of the anchovies combined with the sweetness created by our MGO 30+ Mānuka Blend Honey makes this a celebration of flavours and the perfect addition to your weekly dinners.

This recipe was created by TikTok superstar Daen, a Melbourne based recipe developer showcasing her love for Pasta & Italian/Spanish Heritage. You can find more delicious recipes like this one on her Instagram @daenskitchen or Tik Tok @daenskitchen.

Ingredients

• 1.5kg whole chicken
• 50g salted butter
• 8 anchovy fillets 1
• /2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons Comvita Manuka blend honey + extra for drizzling
• 2 red chilies
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 lemon Pinch of black pepper
• 1 bunch dutch carrots

Method

• Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
• Using absorbent paper, pat the skin of the chicken dry to remove as much moisture as possible. This step will help give the chicken crispy skin.
• Combine the butter, anchovies, olive oil, honey, chilies and salt into a mortar and pestle and mix it together until all ingredients are well combined. Place the chicken into a baking tray. Where the chest cavity opening and breast meet, find an opening and slowly slide your index finger between the skin and flesh, separating the two. Move your finger as far down the breast as it will go and stuff with one teaspoon of anchovy butter in each half. Press the butter down into the breast. This step will give you the juiciest breast meat!
• Using either your hands or a brush, rub the remainder of the anchovy butter all over the chicken. Stuff the bum of the chicken with the lemon and tie the legs together with some brown string as this will help the chicken cook evenly. Place the carrots around the chicken and drizzle some honey and the olive oil all over the carrots and chicken.
• Place the chicken into the oven and roast for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Baste the chicken with the juices from the bottom of the pan every 20 minutes or so. If the top of the chicken is getting too dark, you can place a small amount of alfoil on top.
• Leave the chicken to rest for 5 minutes before carving into it and serve with a simple green salad or some bread to mop up the sauce.