This all-in-one chicken dish is super easy and great for a crowd.

Serves 6

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Ingredients:

1.5 – 2kg fresh whole chicken

1 whole orange or lemon, pierced all over with deep cuts

4 medium carrots, diced

1 onion, finely diced

4 sticks celery, diced

3 cloves garlic, finely diced

1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced

150g mushrooms, sliced or in small quarters

2 cups brown rice (or if using Arborio rice slightly reduce baking time)

500ml chicken or beef stock (or 2 stock cubes in 500ml boiling water)

1/4 cup white wine (optional)

1.5 tbsp rosemary, finely chopped

Olive oil

Salt & pepper

Grated parmesan, to serve

Method: Preheat the oven to 200C. Heat a splash of oil in a large 30cm (min) stovetop casserole dish with lid (like a Dutch Oven) over a medium-high heat. Add onion, sweet potato, carrot and celery, stirring occasionally. After 15 minutes add the garlic. Season well with salt and pepper. Fry until all vegetables are cara­melised with colour, approx 20 minutes. Meanwhile, stuff the orange or lemon into the chicken’s cavity. Drizzle oil and a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper over the entire chicken. Place the chicken over the browned vegetables, and place the pot in the oven on the middle shelf uncovered for approx 40 minutes or until chicken skin is crispy golden brown.

After 20 minutes check the veg aren’t scorching – if they are, then pour 1/4 cup wine or water around the chicken. Bring stock to boil, or boil kettle if using stock cubes. Remove pot from oven and evenly sprinkle (in order) rosemary, rice, then mushrooms around the chicken. Pour stock around chicken until rice is covered by approx 1.5cm of liquid (top up with boiling water if need be).

Cover with the lid, place pot back in the oven and turn the temperature down to 180C. Bake for another 40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through (juices will run clear when cut), and rice is cooked but firm. Cool the pot with lid off for 10 minutes, then remove chicken and slice into portions. It’s ok to see some liquid pooling over the rice – just stir through risotto and spoon a generous amount onto each plate and top with parmesan.

Notes: Experiment with different root vegetables and woody herbs to play around with flavours. If using stock cubes, reduce the amount of salt added to season the vegetables. For leftovers, slice up leftover chicken into bite size pieces and stir through remaining risotto. Refrigerate in an airtight container.

WINE: A BY ARRAS PREMIUM CUVEE ROSÉ NV

When it’s time to celebrate – be it the arrival of good news or the simple fact that it’s Friday (a weekly victory worth celebrating every time) – this writer likes to swap my usual wine habits – that is, red, red, and more red – for something with a bit more sparkle.

Enter the carbonated world of sparkling wine. From the satisfying pop of the cork to the delightful fizz, sparkling is the go-to choice for many a celebration – you generally can’t go wrong with a bottle from House of Arras. The Tasmanian made brand, now owned by Handpicked Wines, has vineyards scattered across the island and holds the crown as Australia’s most-awarded sparkling wine brand. The secret? Tassie’s pristine, cool climate combined with the wizardry of winemaker Ed Carr. Ed crafts the wine using the traditional French technique ‘Méthode Traditionnelle’. The wine is fermented, matured for a minimum of two years and disgorged in the bottle it is presented in.

Recently, I popped open their Premium Cuvee Rosé ($42). It has a light salmon pink colour to it, and a scent that is rosy and creamy. The moment I took a sip, Turkish Delight sprang to mind – not the Cadbury kind, but the real-deal. Needless to say, it was delicious.

Despite being a very fizzy drink, I managed a perfect pour – I swear the wine did not overflow with bubbles and spill onto the kitchen bench. I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Set the vibe:

Wine: Premium Cuvee Rosé from House of Arras

Music: Slide Tackle by Japanese Breakfast

Food: Light canapes

When: After some good news