Winter Roast with a Twist: Rooibos-Brined Chicken & Hasselback Butternut

One crisp winter morning, hands wrapped around a steaming mug of rooibos with honey and lemon—twins tumbling at my feet—I found myself thinking how these three simple ingredients that bring comfort in a cup could just as easily belong in a nourishing winter meal.

Chicken breasts—so often dismissed for drying out—become beautifully tender when brined, soaking up both flavour and much-needed moisture. Paired with bright-as-a-button butternut, a crunchy winter salad, and a lively honey mustard dressing, this dish is a colourful, feel-good take on a roast.

It’s quick enough for midweek chaos, wholesome enough to warm us from the inside out, and just the thing for bringing a little sunshine to the table—no matter how grey the day.

Rooibos tea brined chicken breast with honey and mustard sauce, hasselback butternut squash and pea shoots

Rooibos tea brined chicken

1-litre water

4 rooibos teabags

20g sugar

30g salt

4 cloves garlic crushed

½ lemon thinly sliced

2 sprigs rosemary

4 chicken breasts, skin and bone on

30ml olive oil

50g Butter, melted

•    In a medium-sized pot place water, rooibos tea and sugar, heating to a simmer

•    Take off the heat and let the tea steep for 10 minutes

•    Place back on the heat adding the salt, stirring until dissolved.

•    Add the garlic, lemon and rosemary, leaving to cool off the heat until room temperature,

     place in fridge for 30 minutes until fully cooled

•    Add the chicken breasts to the brine, cover and refrigerate overnight.

•    The following day remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry with a paper towel

•    In a heavy based saucepan and on medium heat, place olive oil and once at temperature

      cook chicken skin down first initially until the skin is lightly golden, roughly 5 minutes a

     side.  

•    Preheat your oven to 175

•    Spoon melted butter over the chicken

•    Place in the oven and cook for 25 minutes

•    Leave to rest

Honey and mustard sauce

80g whole grain mustard

80g honey

80g cup mayo

Juice of 1 lemon  

Pinch of salt

• In a bowl, place all ingredients stirring until combined

Hasselback butternut

1 butternut peeled and halved.

1 tbsp thyme, finely chopped

80g butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Salt

• Preheat your oven to 175 degrees Celsius

• In a small saucepan, place thyme, butter, olive oil and garlic. On medium heat, cook until the butter has melted.

• Using a sharp knife, slice the butternut in ½ centimetre intervals keeping the bottom intact

• Place butternut in a roasting dish and pour over butter mixture

• Roast for an hour or until golden and cooked through

Pea shoot and radish salad

1 bag pea shoots

1 bunch of finely sliced radishes

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp lemon juice

Crack of black pepper

• Place pea shoots in a large bowl with the olive oil, lemon juice and black pepper toss together

• Scatter radishes over the pea shoots