Recipe of the week: Strawberry cider can chicken

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Cooking chicken inverted over a can allows the meat to steam as well as roast. Pushing strawberries into the can adds a wonderful subtle sweet citrus note.

Ingredients

1.6kg free-range chicken

1 can cider

6 strawberries, roughly chopped

½ lime cut into wedges

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

For the strawberry salsa:

150g strawberries, hulled and chopped

Half a cucumber, seeded and sliced thinly

½ lime, zest and juice

1 tbsp olive oil

½ tsp honey

6 mint leaves torn

For the salad:

200g frozen peas, defrosted

75g mangetout, thinly sliced

6 radishes, thinly sliced

3 spring onions, sliced

Drizzle of olive oil (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C/fan180C/gas mark 6. Or crank up the barbecue.

Open the can, decant around half the cider (you can drink it if you want to!) and press the strawberry pieces into the can. Invert the chicken over the top of the can with the legs hanging down. Put the lime wedges into the chicken cavity. Rub the oil over the chicken and season with salt and pepper.

Stand the can with the chicken on top in a roasting tin. You can push long skewers at right angles through the chicken to rest on the rim of the roasting pan to help it stand up. Or use a beer can chicken holder.

Roast for one hour 10-20 minutes, test with a skewer to see if the juices run clear.

If barbecuing check after 45 minutes, it may take less or more time depending on the heat of your coals.

Remove from the can, cover and rest for 15 minutes before carving and serving.

For the salsa, place the strawberries and cucumber in a bowl. Whisk together the lime zest and juice, olive oil and honey in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Spoon over the strawberries, scatter over the mint and stir to combine.

For the salad, combine all the ingredients, drizzle over a little olive oil if required (the salsa is quite juicy) and serve alongside the chicken and salsa.

• For more recipes visit www.lovefreshberries.co.uk

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