Turn the oven onto 180C (350F), so that it has time to preheat while you are preparing the chicken.

Start with a prepared chicken (head, feet and insides removed).

Cut the chicken into pieces (legs, wings, breasts).

Put the chicken pieces into a oven dish or pot.

Shake a generous amount of salt over each piece with one hand, while rubbing it in with the other. Then shake a generous amount of paprika over each piece with one hand, while rubbing it in with the other. Be generous with the paprika; the chicken should all be the colour of paprika afterwards.

Add a centimeter of water to the disk. Add the butter.

Cover the dish with a lid and put into the oven. Cooking time will depend on the size of the chicken, but for an average sized chicken allow 70 minutes. For a large chicken (5 pounds or 2kg) add another 20 minutes.

If one prefers, one can prepare the dish in exactly the same way without cutting up the chicken. In this case, allow 90 minutes for an average sized chicken instead of 70 minutes. However, cutting the chicken into pieces offers 3 advantages:

• It is easier to cut a chicken into portions when it is cold, than when it is hot and ready to be served.


• Cutting the chicken into pieces reduces cooking time.


• One can easily spice both sides of each piece.

The paprika not only adds to the taste of the chicken, but when cooked gives it a pleasing colour. A common mistake with this recipe is to not add enough paprika; add as much as you can rub into the skin.