Roast chicken recipe: MasterChef star Callum Hann reveals how to cook the ultimate Father’s Day Australia 2021 Dinner

MasterChef superstar Callum Hann reveals his secret tips for a classic Sunday roast chicken and how you can save on cooking one.

Breakfast in bed may be the official meal of Mother’s Day, but for MasterChef alum Callum Hann, Father’s Day is all about a Sunday roast. 

The restaurateur and dad to 23 month-old Elle, has a tradition of celebrating Father’s Day by cooking his father’s favourite dishes – and a roast is always on the menu.

“Dad did a mean roast chook,” said Hann, of his father Richard, who passed away when Hann was 16.

“There’s something quite nostalgic for me about a Sunday roast, getting the family together with this centrepiece on the table.”

Chef Callum Hann with his daughter Elle Hann 22 months serving Roast Chicken with Fennell and Thyme ,Shaved Zucchini Salad and Balsamic Roasted Pumpkin and Mushrooms for a fathers day meal.Tuedsday, August,24,2021.Picture Mark Brake

Brand ambassador for the Pick a Local, Pick SA! campaign, Hann has summoned a hint of this nostalgia in his new contemporary Australian Adelaide restaurant, Eleven, where diners are welcomed with house-made bread topped with roast chicken butter and chicken skin salt. “It’s a Sunday roast on bread,” said Hann, who opened his first restaurant, Lou’s Place, in the Barossa Valley last September with longstanding business partner Themis Chryssidis. “Nostalgia is such a wonderful thing if you can achieve it. Whether you’re serving food to your family, or eating in a restaurant, food is a powerful way to bring back memories.”

Enjoying a Sunday roast on Father’s Day with Elle, his wife Crystal and extended family, is a rare spot of downtime for the former mechanical engineer, who launched cooking school and catering business, Sprout, with Chryssidis soon after coming runner-up to Adam Liaw in MasterChef 2010.

Themis Chryssidis and Callum Hann at Eleven in Adelaide, a new restaurant that opens August 13, Friday, Aug. 6, 2021. Picture: MATT LOXTON

Father’s Day has been close to Hann’s heart ever since he lost his dad, who he credits for his love of cooking.

“Dad was the cook in the family, and would always be experimenting with something,” he said.

“I was a hungry kid, and understood pretty quickly that if you helped in the kitchen, you’d get to lick the spatula and try things straight out of the oven.”

Celebrating Father’s Day as a dad himself, has made it an extra special occasion.

“Family has always been everything to me, and it takes on a different meaning when you go from being a child to having a child,” Hann said. “Putting a smile on Elle’s face is the most important thing to me.”

Buy a Steggles Family Roast Chicken at Woolworths, in-store or online, and get $5 off.

Offer valid from 1/9/21 to 14/9/21 while stocks last. Discount applies to full ticketed price and will be automatically applied at checkout. Offer only valid in NSW, QLD, ACT & VIC.

MasterChef Australia superstar alumni Poh Ling Yeow, Callum Hann and “dessert king” Reynold Poernomo will appear on episode 10 of MasterChef Series 13. Picture: Network Ten

ROAST CHICKEN RECIPE: HOW TO COOK THE BEST ROAST CHOOK EVER

Roast chicken with freekeh salad, mustard and gravy

By Callum Hann

SERVES 4 PREP MINS COOK MINS

• 1 whole chicken

• 2 cups brussels sprouts, halved

• 1 bunch of baby carrots, trimmed

• 4 shallots, halved

• 8 thyme sprigs

• 2 rosemary sprigs

• 1 garlic bulb, halved

• 1 cup white wine

• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon extra

• pinch of salt

• ⅔ cup freekeh

• 1 bunch of parsley, roughly chopped

• ¼ cup pumpkin seeds

• ¼ cup currants

• juice of 1 lemon

• ½ cup reduced-salt chicken stock

• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Step 1.

Preheat oven to 200C (fan-forced). Arrange chicken, brussels sprouts, baby carrots, shallots, garlic, thyme and rosemary in a roasting tin. Pour white wine into the bottom of the tin. Drizzle over one tablespoon oil and season with a pinch of salt. Roast for 35-40 minutes or until vegetables are tender and chicken juices run clear.

Step 2

Meanwhile, bring a medium saucepan of water to the boil. Boil freekeh for 20-25 minutes or until tender. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Stir through parsley, pumpkin seeds and currants. Pour over lemon juice and remaining oil. Toss to coat.

Step 3

Once the chicken and vegetables are cooked, remove from the pan and keep warm. Transfer

roasting juices to a small saucepan and add stock and mustard. Simmer for 2-3 minutes until

reduced and thickened. Quarter the chicken, divide freekeh salad between serving plates, top with chicken and pour over mustard gravy.

Chef Callum Hann serving Roast Chicken with Fennell and Thyme ,Shaved Zucchini Salad and Balsamic Roasted Pumpkin and Mushrooms for a fathers day meal.Tuedsday, August,24,2021.Picture Mark Brake

Celebrating the Sunday Roast dinkus

Originally published as Roast chicken recipe: MasterChef star Callum Hann reveals how to cook the ultimate Father’s Day Australia 2021 Dinner