Maryland chicken

• whole chicken↗1

  about 1.8kg

• paprika↗2 tbsp tbsp
• garlic↗2 tsp tsp

  powder

• dried oregano↗2 tsp tsp
• English mustard powder↗2 tsp tsp
• cayenne↗1 tsp tsp
• caster sugar↗1 tsp tsp
• ground black pepper↗1 tsp tsp
• sunflower oil tbsp
• sweet potato↗1kg kg
• large banana↗1

  unpeeled

• butter↗50g g
• milk↗100ml ml
• creamed corn & bacon

  (recipe in 'goes well with', right)

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and sit the chicken in a small roasting tin. Mix all the spices with 2 tsp salt using a pestle and mortar – try to grind the oregano finely so that it doesn’t burn. Rub the spice mix over the chicken with some oil, and cover loosely with foil.

2. 2

   Sit the potatoes in another tin, and put them in the oven together with the chicken. After 30 mins, remove the foil. Pierce the banana once in the skin with a knife and put alongside the potatoes, and roast with the chicken for another 30 mins.

3. 3

   Check the potatoes are soft, then remove them and the banana from the oven. Leave the chicken to cook for a final 10 mins. Split the potatoes and banana, and scrape all the flesh into a saucepan. Add 1 tsp salt, half the butter and the milk, then mash together. Season.

4. 4

   Check the chicken is cooked by piercing the inner thigh and ensuring the juices run clear. Lift to a serving platter and rest for 10 mins.

5. 5

   To serve, spoon the mash into a dish, topped with knobs of remaining butter, and carve the chicken at the table. Serve with Creamed corn & bacon (recipe in 'goes well with', right).