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Roast chicken with vermouth, beans and grapes

Name: Roast chicken with vermouth, beans and grapes
Prep time: PT20-25M
Cook time: 1 h 10 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 1 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra to brush; 4 banana shallots, finely sliced; 4 garlic cloves, finely sliced; 2 sage sprigs; 120ml dry (white) vermouth; 2 x 400g tins butter beans; 1 medium free-range chicken; ½ tsp dried thyme; 300g black grapes; 50ml double cream; ½ bunch flatleaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped

By: Pollyanna Coupland
Food producer, delicious.

Published: 12 Jan 24
Updated: 18 Mar 24

Roast chicken with vermouth, beans and grapes

This easy roast chicken dinner nods to the French classic sole véronique with its vermouth and grape sauce. The intensely sweet and fruity roasted black grapes pair perfectly with the creamy beans and it’s all brought together with the deliciously savoury chicken cooking juices. One for a drizzly grey Sunday afternoon.

Easy
January 2024

Test kitchen approved

Serves 4
Hands-on time 20-25 min. Oven time 1 hour 10 min

Gluten-free recipes

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 849kcals
Fat: 41g (13g saturated)
Protein: 58g
Carbohydrates: 46g (14g sugars)
Fibre: 15g
Salt: 0.5g

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Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra to brush
4 banana shallots, finely sliced
4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
2 sage sprigs
120ml dry (white) vermouth
2 x 400g tins butter beans
1 medium free-range chicken
½ tsp dried thyme
300g black grapes
50ml double cream
½ bunch flatleaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped

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Method

Heat the oven to 180°C fan/gas 6. Put the oil in a hob-safe roasting tray or wide casserole over a medium-high heat. Once hot, add the shallots and garlic with a pinch of salt. Cook for 5 minutes until softened, then add the sage and vermouth and bring to the boil. Drain the beans, pouring the liquid from one of the tins into the tray (discard the liquid from the other tin), then sit the chicken on top. Brush the skin with oil to help crisp it up, then season well with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the dried thyme. Roast the chicken for 40 minutes.
After 40 minutes, baste the chicken with the liquid in the tray and stir in the drained beans, then cook for 20 minutes more. After this time, snip the grapes into small bunches, then add them to the tray around the chicken and baste both the grapes and the chicken once more. Cook for 10 minutes more, then carefully transfer the chicken and the grapes to a plate. Cover and leave to rest.
Put the tray on the hob over a medium heat and stir in the cream. Reduce until you have a thicker sauce consistency (about 10-15 minutes), then taste and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the chopped parsley and any juices from the rested chicken. For visual effect you could bring it all to the table with the whole chicken on top but it’s easier to carve the chicken first, then put the meat on top of the beans and finish with the grapes.