Roast Chicken with Dates, Olives and Capers

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken, about 1.8 kg
• 200 g Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
• 100 g pitted green olives, halved
• 50 g capers, rinsed
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp clear honey
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 150 ml dry white wine
• 2 tbsp date molasses
• ¾ tsp fine salt
• Black pepper
• 4 thyme sprigs, leaves picked

Method

1. In a large non-reactive bowl, combine the chopped dates, olives, capers, minced garlic, lemon zest and lemon juice, olive oil, honey, smoked paprika and oregano. Season generously with ¾ teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper; the marinade is your seasoning layer, so don't be shy here.
2. Sit the whole chicken in the bowl and turn it through the marinade until every surface is coated, working some of the mixture under the breast skin if you can.
3. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 days, turning the chicken two or three times along the way. This is your acid moment: the lemon juice in the marinade is doing the tenderising work, so trust it and don't rush.
4. Heat the oven to 180°C (fan 160°C). Pull the chicken out 30 minutes before roasting so it loses the fridge chill; cold meat into a hot oven gives you tough exterior and underdone interior.
5. Lift the chicken into a large roasting tray and scrape every last bit of the marinade around it; the dates will caramelise into sticky jammy pockets, the capers and olives will blister, and you want all of that on the tray.
6. Whisk the white wine with the date molasses and pour around (not over) the chicken. The wine and molasses become the braising liquid that breaks down the marinade as it roasts, so you get glossy pan juices instead of a scorched tray.
7. Roast for around 50 minutes, basting 2 or 3 times with the dark juices pooling at the bottom. You're looking for skin that's deep mahogany and crackling, dates caramelised black at the edges, and clear juices when you pierce the thickest part of the thigh; internal temp 75°C for 30 seconds at the thigh joint. If the breast is colouring faster than the legs, tent loosely with foil for the final 15 minutes.
8. Rest the chicken on a warm platter for 10 minutes; this is important, the juices need to settle back into the meat. Taste the pan juices and adjust the seasoning now: a pinch more salt if it needs lifting, another grind of pepper.
9. Carve or tear the chicken onto the platter, spoon the dates, olives, capers and dark pan juices over and around, then scatter freshly picked oregano leaves and thyme across the top and finish with a crack of black pepper.