Italian Roast Chicken with peppers and olives

This recipe highlights the problem of watching Saturday Kitchen. You watch, hungry, on a Saturday morning - and then can't get a particular dish out of your mind.
This particular recipe is one of Nigella's - I have changed it only slightly, and added a couple of medium chillis to give a background heat.
When I first made it I thought the veg looked a bit burnt when it came out of the oven - but it is just right, and the gravy the dish creates is out of this world.

Serves 4 well with some leftover

1 chicken - approx. 1.5kg - the best quality you can buy
1 unwaxed lemon
I small bunch of fresh rosemary
3 leeks (washed and trimmed)
2 red peppers
1 orange pepper
1 yellow pepper
2 large chillis
100g pitted dry-packed olives
60ml olive oil
sea salt and pepper to taste

1 Preheat the oven to 200c
2 Cut each leek into 3 'logs', and then slice lengthways. Place in a roasting tin large enough to hold the veg and the bird.
3 Remove the core and seeds of the peppers, and slice into strips, adding theses to the roasting tin. Deseed the chillis
put in the olives. Pour over most of the olive oil and mix the veg gently, ensuring everything is coated.
4 Untruss the chicken , and sit on top of the veg. Pour the remaining olive oil over the chicken and rub in.
5 Place the two halves of lemon into the cavity, with a few sprigs of rosemary.
6 Add the remaining sprigs of rosemary to the veg, and season the chicken and the veg with salt and pepper.
7 Place uncovered in the oven for 1hour to 1 1/4 hours, by which time the chicken should be cooked through. Test by putting a knife into the thickest part of the thigh - the juices should run clear.
8 Place the chicken on a carving board, and return the roasting pan to the oven - switching the oven off at the same time.
9 Allow the chicken to rest for approx. ten minutes and then carve onto a serving plate.
10 Remove the roasting tin from the oven and remove the veg with a slotted spoon onto a serving dish, and pour over the gravy. I put some additional gravy into a small dish so more could be added at the table.
11 Now you are ready to serve - I followed Nigella's example and made a 'risotto' from pearl barley flavoured with saffron (recipe to follow).

Potato and Leek Al Forno

This recipe was the result of a lazy Saturday morning watching Saturday Kitchen. The recipe is from Theo Randall - he used this side dish to accompany pork chops. I had it with rib eye steak and grilled baby gem lettuce.
It is a very rich dish - and the aroma when the oven is opened is reminiscent of walking into an old school Italian restaurant - it must be the garlic and the cream - but it is beautiful.
You will see the recipe includes anchovies - which I realise are a bit 'marmite' - but they really do add a depth of flavour to this dish. I would say that my wife would never eat an anchovy as they come out of the tin - but loved this dish.

Serves 4 as a generous side

1kg charlotte potatoes ( or alternative waxy potato)
250g leeks
1 garlic clove
1 small tin of anchovies in oil, drained (30g)
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
400ml double cream
40g dried breadcrumbs
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Preheat the oven to 180/160 fan.
2 Cut the potatoes and leeks into 1.5 - 2cm discs.
3 Parboil the potatoes for 10 minutes, drain and set aside
4 Parboil the leeks for 5 minutes - drain and place on a baking dish with the potatoes
5 In a saucepan heat the oil and briefly fry the anchovies and garlic, stirring to help dissolve the anchovies
6 Add the cream and cook gently for 5 minutes.
7 Pour the cream over the leeks and potatoes and mix well.
8 Cover with foil and cook for 30 minutes.
9 Remove the foil - sprinkle over the breadcrumbs and return to the oven.
10 Cook until the breadcrumbs become browned on top - about 10 minutes.
11 You are ready to serve.

These go really well with grilled meats - but you do need something fresh and green alongside to cut through all of the richness.
Enjoy - this dish is worth making just for the aroma alone!