Roasted chicken, fennel and mandarines

A not so good picture for a great dish.

Roasted chicken, fennel and mandarines (adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi‘s Jerusalem)

Ingredients 

• 100ml pernod (or other anisaldehyde licor)
• 4 tbs olive oil
• 3 tbs lemon juice
• 3 tbs orange juice
• 2 tsp grain mustard
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• 2 medium fennel bulbs, sliced into wedges
• 1 free range chicken, divided into 8 (see here for help)
• 3 mandarins, unpeeled, sliced horizontally into 1 cm slices
• a good few sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2 tsp fennel seeds
• salt and pepper

Method

In a dish combine the first 6 ingredients and mix well. Add the chicken, fennel, mandarins and thyme and let marinate for a few hours. If you’re not super organised (which I wasn’t) you can skip the marinating and just jump straight into the cooking.

Preheat the oven to 220ºC. Transfer the chicken, fennel and all its marinade into an oven proof roasting tray large enough for everything to sit in a single layer. Making sure the chicken is skin side up. Place the tray in the oven and roast for 35-45 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked, and its skin is crispy and golden.