You will love this simple roasted chicken in a tomato, olive and feta sauces with basil. Inspired by flavours of the Mediterranean, this is an easy and healthy chicken recipe.
Rather than baking a dry roasted chicken with flavours on the skin, I roasted the chicken in a delicious combination of tomatoes, basil and garlic. The tasty twist to this recipe is adding feta cheese to the sauce toward the end of the roast. The Feta doesn’t melt completely but gives the sauce an extra flavour and texture.
A great thing about this Mediterranean roasted chicken is that the sauce is packed around the chicken, keeping the chicken moist as well as making it a one pan roast chicken. Roasting the chicken in a sauce is the future, declared the Chief Taster. We are now “debating” about other suitable sauces for roasting with a chicken.
The beauty about a roast chicken is that it is a cheap option and can last a couple of meals if it’s just the two of you. What I found with this Mediterranean roasted chicken is that the leftovers kept moist in the fridge for lunch the next day. Again, it’s the joy of roasting the chicken in a sauce. Rather than keeping carved slices of chicken and slathering with mayonnaise the next day to stop the meat from drying out, we had moist chicken for lunch the next day.
MEDITERRANEAN ROASTED CHICKEN TIPS
- Although the recipe states for chopped tomatoes, you can use tinned tomatoes, but check the label for any sugar.
- If you find the tomato sauce starting to dry out, add water or chicken stock.
- Choose your roasting tin so that the sauce will be packed in around the chicken.
- You could roast chicken legs or breasts in the sauce for a smaller dinner.
- Use good quality olives to enhance the sauce flavour.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH?
I served this with cauliflower croquettes as a potato replacement. Other great side dishes would be spinach, kale or cabbage. Something green to go with the tomato taste. A light green salad would be delicious too.
OTHER CHICKEN DISHES TO ENJOY:
Chicken Breast Stuffed with Feta and Vegetables
Mediterranean Roasted Chicken
Ingredients
- 25 oz whole chicken
- 3 tablespoons butter, unsalted
- 2 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
TOMATO SAUCE
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and chopped
- 25 oz tomatoes, chopped (or low carb tinned tomatoes)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste no sugar
- 10 black olives, pitted
- ¼ cup basil, fresh
- 2 tablespoons thyme, fresh
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ¾ cup Feta cheese crumbled
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190C/375F degrees.
- Place the chicken (giblets removed) in a medium roasting tin.
- Place the garlic cloves and thyme inside the chicken.
- Rub the butter over the chicken skin and season with salt and pepper.
- Roast for 45 minutes
MAKE THE SAUCE
- Heat the oil in a frying pan on a medium heat.
- Fry the onions for 5 minutes until softened.
- Add the garlic, tomatoes and thyme. Cook for 10 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Stir in the olives, basil and season with salt and pepper.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and pour off any juices from the tin.
- Spoon the tomato sauce around the chicken.
- Return the chicken to the oven and roast for 50-60 minutes.
- At the last 20 minutes of the roasting time remove the chicken from the over, baste the chicken with the tomato sauce and crumble the feta cheese over the tomato sauce.
- Return to the oven for the final cooking time. Ensure that the chicken is cooked by piercing the thigh and checking the juices are clear.
- Remove the chicken, cover with foil and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Carve the chicken for serving and if necessary, reheat the tomato sauce.
Judith Morin
How much thyme and is it fresh or dried
Angela Coleby
I used 4 sprigs of fresh thyme. You could use dried.