Spring Chicken with Wild Garlic and Lemon

Just the ticket when the wild garlic is growing in every nook and cranny you can see. No need to pop to the shops for this fresh, delicious addition to your lunch table. It has a lot of lovely Vitamins A & C and the power of antimicrobials and antivirals to keep you fighting fit. A simple, flavour packed tray bake that I could eat every day of the week, and takes a couple of minutes to throw together.

• 1 whole chicken, jointed into 6 pieces Or 2 breasts, two thighs and two drumsticks with skin on
• 1 Lemon, sliced into 6 wedges
• 2” fresh ginger, diced into pea size pieces
• 2 onions, chopped into 6 wedges
• 1 Cup Wild Garlic (or use 6 cloves of garlic out of season)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 glass of white wine (or pink)
• 1 tsp sea salt
• Ground black pepper

Heat Oven to 190 Lay the chicken pieces evenly spaced into a lined, medium sized baking tray. Squeeze a little of each of the lemon wedges over the top of the chicken and then tuck each piece in underneath a piece to ensure the lemons flavour the meat as it cooks. Sprinkle the ginger pieces on top and around, and tuck the onion wedges to nestle beside the meat. Tear the wild garlic, reserve a few leaves for garnishing to serve, and scatter over and around. Drizzle the olive oil evenly over the whole tray, and then sprinkle the cayenne, salt and pepper on to the chicken. Pour the wine into the bottom of the tray and bake for 10 minutes at 190 then baste the chicken with the juices, turn the heat down to 160 and return to the oven for a further 15 minutes. Check to see the skin is browning towards the end, if not, turn the heat back up to 190 and bake for 3-5 minutes until the skin is browned and crispy.