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Roast chicken with grape and herb stuffing under breast

Eilish Bouchier


It’s cold and wet here in Sydney. Perfect day for a roast dinner.

Here’s my favourite roast chicken recipe. When I first came across it I thought it was odd putting the grapes between the skin and the flesh, but it keeps the meat extra juicy and gives it a wonderful sweetness too. Yum!

What you’ll need 1 large organic chicken 2 oz/50g of butter

Stuffing 6oz/175g of seedless black grapes, halved 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped 2 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped 3.5oz/100g butter 1 onion, finely chopped 4 oz 110g fresh breadcrumbs 4 cloves of garlic, crushed

For the gravy 1 pint/570ml good quality chicken stock 1 tablespoon flour 4 tablespoon of dry white wine Freshly ground salt and black pepper

Preheat oven to 190˙C/375˙F

How to make it Make the stuffing first. Melt ½ oz (10 g) of the butter in a small saucepan and cook the finely chopped onion for about 5 minutes or until softened, then add the rest of the butter and allow it to melt.

Then transfer the onion and the buttery juices to a bowl. Add the breadcrumbs. Stir in the crushed garlic, chopped parsley, tarragon and grapes. Taste and season with the freshly ground salt and pepper.  Now, loosen the breast skin of the chicken a little to make a pocket for the stuffing. Place the stuffing in the pocket. Don’t overfill – The skin will burst when cooking if you do. And you don’t want that 🙂 Secure the skin flap underneath with a small skewer or a toothpick. (Don’t forget to remove it later) Season the chicken all over with lots of salt and pepper, then rub all over with the 2 oz (50 g) butter, and cover the chicken with buttered foil.  Place the chicken in a roasting tin and cook for approximately 1 hour 20 minutes, basting the meat with the buttery juices every 20 minutes or so. Remove the foil about 50 minutes before it’s done to brown the breast.  You can test if the chicken is cooked by piercing the thickest part of the thigh with a skewer. When ready the juices will run golden and clear, Drain the chicken thoroughly and keep warm while you make the gravy.

Carefully tilt the roasting tin and pour off some of the excess fat. You only need about 1-1½ tablespoons of fat. Put the tin over direct low heat. When the juices begin to sizzle, blend in the flour. Keep stirring and allow the flour to brown before gradually adding the wine and the stock to make a thinnish gravy. Carve the chicken and serve, with the gravy served separately. 

I usually serve this with roast/boiled potatoes, green beans, peas or carrots. Yum!

I think I found this years ago in the Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Weekend and have been making it ever since.

Enjoy

x


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