Name: Roast spatchock with baby carrots, chickpeas and chermoula butter
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 2 bunches dutch carrots, scrubbed and trimmed; 2 small spanish onions, thinly sliced; 2 tbsp olive oil; 4 spatchcock (500gm each), butterflied; 400 gm canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed; 180 gm pitted green olives; 1 cup (loosely packed) mint; 1 cup (loosely packed) coriander; Chermoula butter; 1 tsp coriander seeds; 1 tsp cumin seeds; ¾ tsp ground cinnamon; ½ tsp chilli powder; ½ tsp ground turmeric; 185 gm unsalted butter; 3 garlic cloves, finely grated; 1½ tbsp lemon juice, or to taste; 3 tsp honey

Roast spatchock with baby carrots, chickpeas and chermoula butter

The warm and toasty notes of chermoula bring zing to this otherwise simple dish of roast vegetables and grilled chicken.

Serves 4

Prep

10M

Cook

25M

Total

35M

Roasting the spatchcock yields fine results, but grilling it on the barbecue will add smoke and char. To make this fast meal more of a feast, add a simple salad of thinly sliced fennel, fennel tops and coriander leaves tossed in lemon juice.

Ingredients

2 bunches dutch carrots, scrubbed and trimmed

2 small spanish onions, thinly sliced

2 tbsp olive oil

4 spatchcock (500gm each), butterflied

400 gm canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed

180 gm pitted green olives

1 cup (loosely packed) mint

1 cup (loosely packed) coriander

Chermoula butter

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

¾ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp chilli powder

½ tsp ground turmeric

185 gm unsalted butter

3 garlic cloves, finely grated

1½ tbsp lemon juice, or to taste

3 tsp honey

Method

1.Preheat oven to 240°C. Toss carrots, onion and half the oil in a large roasting pan to coat and season to taste. Place spatchcock on top skin-side up, drizzle with remaining oil, season to taste and roast until spatchcock is golden brown and juices run clear when a thigh is pierced with a skewer (20-22 minutes). Transfer spatchcock to a plate, cover with foil and rest briefly.

2.Add chickpeas and olives to the vegetables in the roasting pan and return to the oven to warm through (2-3 minutes).

3.Meanwhile, for chermoula butter, dry-roast spices in a small frying pan until fragrant (30 seconds to 1 minute). Crush with a mortar and pestle, then blend in a small food processor with remaining ingredients until smooth. Season to taste.

4.Add half the chermoula butter to roasted vegetables and toss to coat. Divide among serving plates, top with spatchcock, then herbs and yoghurt and serve with lemon wedges and remaining chermoula butter.

Maxwell Adey Senior Food Editor & Stylist

Maxwell has always been passionate about food. Born into a restaurateur and award-winning produce farming family, he was strongly steered into pursuing a career in advertising after completing his Bachelor of Public Communication at University of Technology, Sydney. After a very short stint, he decided to enrol in Commercial Cookery at TAFE to follow his true passion. Maxwell started out working in some of Sydney’s finest restaurants (Est., Claude’s and Moon Park) which helped further his love of all things culinary and developed his technical ability to cook. Later, he was lured into the magical world of food publishing where he freelanced for ten years for notable Australian commercial and editorial brands. He has also run his own business where he sells his marinated olives, dressings and sauces at food markets and select retailers. He excitingly joins the Gourmet Traveller team to bring his technical and creative expertise in food to the brand.

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Styling by Emma Knowles