Roast chicken with onion bread sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC, gas mark 4. Put the chicken into a roasting tin. Smear the butter all over it and season inside and out. Roast for 1 hour 50 minutes, or according to pack instructions, basting from time to time.

2. To make the sauce, stick the cloves in each onion half. Put into a saucepan with the milk, bay leaf, a good pinch of salt and the peppercorns. Bring to the boil then take the pan off the heat and leave to infuse and cool for 30 minutes.

3. Melt 30g of the butter in a heavy-based pan and add the chopped onions. Sauté gently for about 5 minutes – the onions shouldn’t colour – then add a splash of water (about 50ml), season with salt, cover the pan and sweat over a low heat for about 10 minutes, until the onion is completely soft. Check every so often to make sure the mixture isn’t dry and add another drop of water if you need to. If the mixture is very ‘wet’ once the onions are soft then boil to drive off the excess moisture.

4. Remove the chicken from the oven and check the juices are clear and there is no pink meat. Cover with foil and old, clean tea towels to keep it warm and allow to rest for about 15 minutes.

5. Strain the milk, discarding the onion and bay leaf, then bring it up to the boil again. Add the breadcrumbs and slowly heat, without boiling. The mixture will thicken as it heats. Add the remaining butter, the cream, chopped onions and a really good grating of fresh nutmeg. Check the seasoning – it needs good seasoning. If the sauce is too thick add a little more milk. Spoon into a warm sauce boat or bowl. Serve with the chicken.