Sticky Lemon Chicken

We ate this on Friday, but Blogspot was having some kind of outage so I wasn't able to update. We used up the rest of the chicken I bought on Wednesday: the thighs, legs and wings. I think these parts are best roasted, as they usually have fat that renders better at high temperature, and can be cooked in a sticky glaze for maximum finger-licking tastiness. This recipe is a few times removed from its source; I have been refining it for years: I like to keep the zest in large pieces for extra flavour, and add the honey near the end so it doesn't burn.

As I was still quite poorly, the SO had to do the cooking, and he did a brilliant job. (I saved my chicken leg for lunch the next day, which is why it's not in the picture!) He served the chicken with mustard mashed potatoes and steamed asparagus and peas, which were lovely and comforting accompaniments. You could also serve this with brown rice, or garlic bread, and other steamed veg or salad. The recipe would also work really well on the barbecue, over a moderate heat so the chicken has a chance to cook through.

Ingredients:

• one chicken: thighs, legs and wings only
• one lemon
• six fat cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp thyme or rosemary (optional)
• 2 tbsp honey

Preheat the oven to 200 C. Put your chicken pieces in a baking tray or roasting tin; I like to use a very heavy-based one like a Le Creuset, just a bit larger than the chicken pieces laid out. Using a very sharp knife or peeler, peel large pieces of the lemon peel off in continuous fat strips. Tuck these and the cloves of garlic (unpeeled) in between the pieces of chicken. Squeeze over the juice of the lemon and scatter over the herbs if using, and put in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, pour over the honey, and turn the pieces in the honey and any juices at the bottom of the pan. Return to the oven for a further 10 minutes, or until the chicken is sticky, brown and cooked through but still tender. Serve with paper napkins!