This is an attempt to recreate the amazing roast chicken we buy from street vendors in Spain (in the Alicante region) - made up by looking at loads of different recipes for Spanish Roast Chicken and mixing my favourite bits together. It doesn’t taste the same, but today’s attempt was pretty good, so I thought I better write it down before I forget.

Ingredients

(I tend to make up the amounts as I go along, so these are only rough):

• 1 medium chicken
• 250ml white wine
• 100ml chicken or vegetable stock
• 6 cloves of garlic
• salt and pepper
• paprika
• rosemary, thyme and oregano
• 1 orange
• 1 onion
• Olive oil

Method

• Slice the orange into quarters and stick two quarters inside the chicken.
• Crush the garlic, then mix it with the wine and stock. Add in some of the herbs, salt and pepper.
• Rub olive oil into the chicken skin
• Sit the chicken in a casserole and pour over the wine/stock mixture.
• Cover the chicken and leave it sat in the mixture for an hour or two, occasionally spooning the mixture over the top again.
• Heat your oven to whatever temperature is recommended for your chicken.
• Sit the remaining pieces of orange, plus your quartered onion in the bottom of the casserole
• Give a light dusting of paprika over the top of the chicken, cover with foil and cook.
• After twenty minutes, remove the foil and continue to cook for however long your chicken needs, basting occasionally.
• Eat, preferably without burning your mouth on the sauce, like I did today.

According to last.fm this is what I listened to this year…

1: Chase & Status – Time

2: The Kills – Nail in My Coffin

3: Imelda May – Kentish Town Waltz

4: DEV – Bass Down Low

5: Imelda May – Mayhem

6: Martin Solveig & Dragonette – Hello

7: DEV – Booty Bounce

8: Toddla T – Watch Me Dance

9: Shivaree – Bossa Nova

10: The Naked And Famous – Punching In A Dream

11: Tinie Tempah & Swedish House Mafia – Miami 2 Ibiza

12: Lady Gaga – Born This Way

13: Toddla T Featuring Mr Versatile – Rice And Peas

14: Aloe Blacc – I Need A Dollar

15: Gentleman’s Dub Club – Gentleman’s Sleng

16: Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix)

17: Imelda May – Proud and Humble

18: Cassius – I ♥ U So (Skream’s Made Zdar Feel Like He Was 20 Again)

19: Prodigy – Stand Up

20: Far East Movement – Like a G6 (feat. The Cataracs & Dev)

21: Uffie – MCs Can Kiss

22: Dragonette – My Things

23: Adele – Rolling in the Deep (Jamie xx Shuffle)

24: Chase & Status – Let You Go

25: Katy B – Lights On

26: Lady Gaga – Judas

27: Chase & Status – End Credits

28: Rizzle Kicks – Down With The Trumpets

29: The Naked And Famous – Jilted Lovers

30: Chase & Status – Blind Faith