No Fuss Chicken Sambal

Don’t do anything fancy—just make it saucy. This is one of those brilliantly simple dinners that feels like a treat with very little effort. A perfectly roasted chicken, plenty of garlic, lemon, and olive oil, then dressed after cooking with a good spoonful of Saucy Chilli Sambal. The result? Juicy, golden chicken with crispy skin and a punchy kick. Minimal prep, big payoff.

Serves: 4 
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 20 minutes (plus resting)
Dietary: Gluten-free

Ingredients

• 1 whole roast chicken (we used @farmshopuk)
• 1 lemon, quartered
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 5 garlic cloves, skin on
• Generous salt + pepper
• Saucy Chilli Sambal, for serving

Method

• Preheat + prep: Heat your oven to 190°C (fan). Place your chicken in a large roasting tray. Tuck in the lemon quarters and garlic cloves. Drizzle with olive oil, season generously with salt and pepper, and rub everything in so the chicken is well coated.
• Roast: Turn the chicken breast-side down and roast in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes.
• Flip + finish roasting: Turn the chicken breast-side up and roast for another 30 minutes. Baste the bird all over with the pan juices, then roast for a final 20 minutes or until the leg pulls away easily and juices run clear.
• Rest: Remove from the oven, cover loosely with foil and rest for 20 minutes. Don’t skip this bit—it’s how you get super juicy meat.
• Sauce + serve: Carve and spoon over a generous helping of Saucy Chilli Sambal. That’s it. Serve with whatever you fancy—rice, flatbreads, a crisp salad or just straight off the board.

Leftovers? Chop up and toss through noodles or stir into rice the next day with more sambal and a squeeze of lime.