This recipe was inspired by a description of Venice as a historical trading port and how its cuisine has been influence by the goods and people passing through it throughout the ages. Arab traders brought a taste for fruit cooked with meat and Marco Polo introduced eastern spices not just to Venice, but from there into Western Europe. I thought to combine these two influences to spice up a Sunday roast.

For 4 portions

medium sized free range chicken cut into about 12 pieces

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

3 garlic cloves

2 cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

good pinch of saffron

zest and juice of half a lemon and half an orange

2 tart eating apples

Using a pestle and mortar grind the salt, peppercorns and cloves together to a powder

Add the ground cinnamon and nutmeg, mix well.

Chop the garlic roughly and add to the spices, crush to a paste, then add the saffron, orange and lemon zest and juice.

Mix well to a paste and add the the chicken portions mixing well to ensure that the chicken is well covered with the marinade.

Leave for an hour to let flavours to enter and tenderise the chicken.

Roast the chicken pieces in a hot oven 180 fan or 200C for twenty minutes.

Cut the apples into wedges and remove the cores.

Take the chicken out of the oven and turn each piece, add the apple pieces and return to the oven for another twenty minutes.

If you want to roast potatoes with the chicken, have them peeled, cut into the size you like and seasoned. Twenty minutes before the chicken needs to go in the oven start roasting the potatoes in olive oil. After the twenty minutes, take the tray out of the oven and turn the potatoes over. Add the chicken and proceed as above

Enjoy!