Roger Moore’s Chicken Luisa

This was a very easy way of making a chook just a little bit special. The recipe appeared in a newspaper article about what Roger liked to eat, Luisa was his wife and this was her way of preparing chicken.

Roger will feature twice in the forthcoming Cooking the Detectives book. Once, in his role as the dandyish Lord Brett Sinclair in The Persuaders

and once for his portrayal of The Saint.

I considered making my own rosemary salt to sprinkle inside the chicken, but I decided to keep things simple by using the suggestion in the “afterthought” of this recipe, popping a big handful of parsley and two nice sprigs of rosemary inside the chicken. I basted it with the sauce just before it went in, then again after 20 minutes, then about every 15 minutes until it was done.

The recipe comes with a word of caution. Mr R thought the temperature was rather low for cooking a chicken and I agreed. Our lovely 3 lb bird from the England’s Lane butcher in Hampstead took about an hour and a half on gas mark 4 which is 180℃ or 350℉. If you aren’t sure how long to cook your chicken, I would strongly suggest weighing it and having a good Google. A probe thermometer is also a great thing to have around the place. Internal temperature should be at least 165℉ or 74℃.

We both agreed this would be something we would cook again. Despite the amount of rosemary in the sauce, plus a couple of sprigs inside, the flavour of rosemary wasn’t overpowering. It enhanced the flavour of the chook and we loved it.