Don’t you just love it when you’re out enjoying yourself, as I was at the blogger Xmas party last weekend; and in the meantime someone is preparing dinner for when I get home? It’s not a daily occurrence, so I quietly relish the treat any time it happens. Given the amount of recipes in magazines and books floating around the house it’s also good to see them being used once in a while.

Here’s a quick and easy one Mr K whipped up from the Gourmet Traveller back catalogue, with his own adaptation. It’s a very tasty dish that’s pretty versatile. You could use any joint of chicken and just about any root vegetable. We’ve even thrown in fresh green grapes for an additional burst of juicy sweetness.

cider roasted chicken with prosciutto, apple & potato

serves 4

• 500 g chat potatoes, thickly sliced
• 6 small brown onions, left unpeeled
• 2 pink lady apples, cut into wedges
• 8-10 thyme sprigs, plus 1 tbsp extra leaves
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 4 chicken Marylands, skin on
• 4 thin slices prosciutto
• 100 ml dry apple cider
• 1/3 cup chicken stock
• 2 tbsp cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 220°C.

Combine potato, onion, apple, thyme sprigs and 60 ml oil in a roasting pan, season well and roast for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile season the chicken and scatter with thyme leaves. Wrap each chicken piece with a slice of prosciutto, place on top of the potato mixture, drizzle with remaining oil.

Add cider and stock to the pan and roast until the chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender (20-30 minutes). Stir through the vinegar.