Hot Roast Chicken Sandwich

Begin by taking the chicken out of the fridge an hour before you’re ready to cook it. Take a piece of kitchen roll and pat the chicken dry all over. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Next, make the garlic and herb rub for the chicken. Take the leaves from a few sprigs of rosemary and thyme and finely chop. Mince three cloves of garlic and add to a bowl with the herbs along with a few big pinches of salt and pepper and 2 tbsp of olive oil. Mix to combine then, using your hands, rub the mix all over the chicken.

Peel the onions, cut them in half and place them in a roasting tray with a halved bulb of garlic and a few sprigs of rosemary and thyme. Sit the chicken on top and place in a preheated oven for 1hr 20mins. The chicken is done when the juices run clear.

Take the chicken out and allow it to rest on a plate while you crack on with the gravy. Remove the onions and garlic from the roasting tray, making sure to leave as much cooking juices in the tray as possible. Optionally, you can save the onions to put in the sandwich later.

Put the roasting tray on the hob, set over a medium heat and add 4 tsp of plain flour. Cook for a minutes or so to allow the flour to soak up the juices from the pan then pour in a good splash of white wine (about 125ml). Allow the wine to bubble away making sure to be constantly whisking to avoid lumps.

After a couple of minutes, add the chicken stock and whisk while bringing to the boil. Allow the gravy simmer for 20 mins, whisking every so often. After 20 mins, pass the gravy through a sieve into a small saucepan and set aside.

While the gravy is simmering, make the garnish. Pick the leaves of the parsley and add to a bowl with thinly sliced red onion and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Now the chicken has rested, it’s time to carve. Cut down between the leg and the breast, pop the joint, then cut through to remove the legs. Next, remove the breast by slicing down along the bone from the middle of the bird. With clean hands, remove the meat from the legs and any excess left on the carcass.

Next, slice your baguettes leaving one side attached and fill liberally with the chicken. Place the sandwiches back in the oven for 10 mins to crisp up while you heat the gravy.

Fill the sandwiches with a little bit of the garnish and then serve each sandwich with their own pot of dipping gravy and enjoy.