Roast Chicken with Bacon & Herb Stuffing
2019-04-29 11:56:40
Serves 4
My favourite meal of the week in these cooler months- a Sunday Roast!
The benefit of cooking a whole chicken (or two) is the leftovers you’ll have for the week ahead. Shred the leftover chicken breast and put into sandwiches, salads or soups and the carcass can be slow cooked to make a delicious rich bone broth, which is great for gut & immune health.
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Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
1 hr 30 min
Roast Chicken
- 1.4-1.8kg free range chicken
- 3 cups vegetables
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- ½ a lemon
- 2-3 stalks of thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt & pepper
Bacon & Herb Stuffing
- 3 rashes of bacon, finely diced
- 3 mushrooms, finely diced
- 2 sprigs of thyme leaves, finely chopped
- 1 stalk of parsley, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon lemon rind
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (* I use the juice of half a lemon)
- ½ small onion, finely diced
- 1 garlic clove, finely diced
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon pine nuts
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt & pepper
Instructions
- Preheat a fan-forced oven to 180C.
- Chop the vegetables into large quarters or halves, so that they are fairly even in size.
- Place the vegetables, thyme and garlic cloves onto the tray and then place the chicken on top.
- To prepare the chicken, gently separate the skin from the meat of the breast and create a pocket. Gently massage the butter into these pockets.
- To make the stuffing, place the garlic, onion, mushrooms and bacon in a fry pan and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add in the pine nuts and cook for a further minute.
- In a medium sized bowl, place the remainder of the stuffing mix and the fried mix and combine well with a spoon.
- Stuff the chicken cavity and then place the halved lemon into the end of the cavity and seal it off with the skin.
- Drizzle olive oil over the top of the chicken and veggies and season well with salt and pepper.
- Place into the oven and cook for 80-90 minutes, turning the veggies half way through.
- To check the chicken is finally done, pierce the chicken with the tip of a sharp knife and if the juices run clear, it’s done. Remove from the oven and rest for 5 minutes, before carving.
- Serve the roast chicken with a side of peas, brussel sprouts or steamed green beans and plenty of warm gravy.
Rebecca Pope Sydney Food & Lifestyle Blogger https://rebeccapope.com.au/
