Do you fancy a special meal for the holidays? Then check out this festive stuffed roasted chicken. Tender and moist on the inside, crispy on the outside and with a gorgeous stuffing of baked beans, dried fruits, rosemary, dried tomatoes and fennel. Top it with a lovely wine-citrussy gravy and before you know it, you have your special holiday meal.
I’ve always thought roasting a whole chicken would be messy and long work. Well, I was so wrong. If you are also one of those who don’t know how to roast a chicken or haven’t tried it before, read this through (it will only take you 3 minutes) and you’ll be good to go.
The amazing thing about this stuffed roasted chicken is, that you don’t actually need a side dish. In fact, your side dish is inside the chicken. Wink. How fantastic is that?! However, you can still make some lovely baked or mashed potatoes, some delicious Brussels sprouts, grilled vegetables or crunchy salads.
How to make the best chicken stuffing ever
Personally, I think this stuffing is one of the best stuffings I’ve ever tasted. It’s really delicious, colourful and very Christmassy. In fact, the combination of onion and garlic (which always has to be there), rosemary and dried tomatoes with the Mediterranean flavour, creamy baked beans and a mixture of dried fruits is simply amazing.
Why using a whole lemon? Well, the lemon has two purposes. First, keeping the stuffing in the chicken and second, adding a fresh flavour to the gravy. Basically, the lemon is going to cook for 1,5 hours together with the chicken. As a result, it will become so soft, that you will only need to squeeze it to get the juices and the pulp out.
Moreover, I’ve seen this trick in one of Gordon Ramsay’s videos. Quite a great trick. Don’t you think? Also, together with wine and all of the lovely chicken and stuffing juices, it makes a wonderful gravy. Just remember to strain it through a sieve before serving it.
So we’ll make the stuffing, we’ll stuff the chicken and then we’ll bake it in two parts. The first part covered with aluminium foil and the second part without. The chicken is “bathing” in white wine the whole time, which will become your gravy at the end.
Did I get your attention on how to roast a whole chicken? Believe me, give it a try. Roasting a chicken is really easy. Also, make your own stuffing, experiment with flavours and textures. That being said, if you don’t fancy chicken, you can still make a delicious Cottage pie, a classic meatloaf, a tasty trout or big plate of spaghetti.
Ingredients for a stuffed roasted chicken:
- 1 whole chicken (about 1-1,2 kg)
- olive oil
- 1 red onion (sliced)
- 2 garlic cloves (sliced), plus one whole garlic bulb (cut in half crosswise)
- 1-2 rosemary stems
- 1/2 fennel bulb (cubed)
- 4-5 dried tomatoes (chopped)
- 5 dried apricots (chopped)
- a handful of cranberries
- 5-6 prunes (chopped)
- 300 ml white wine (100 ml for the stuffing)
- salt and pepper
- 2 Tbsp of sweet paprika
- 1 whole lemon
- 100 ml of water
First of all, prepare the stuffing. In a larger pan drizzle some olive oil. When it gets hot, add the sliced onion, garlic and rosemary. Once the onion gets glossy and the rosemary releases the wonderful aroma, stir in the fennel cubes, chopped dry tomatoes, cranberries, chopped prunes, chopped dry apricots and baked beans.
Last, sprinkle with salt, add 100 ml of water or wine, cover and simmer on medium heat for about 10 minutes. If it drys out, simply add a splash of water or two.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 190º C and wash the chicken under cold running water. Before stuffing it, dry it using some paper towels. Then, season well inside the cavity with salt and pepper. It is really important for the taste to not skip this step.
In order to do it easily, place the chicken standing with the cavity facing up. Finally, fill the chicken with the gorgeous stuffing. Now, the stuffing is still warm and it will already cook the chicken from the inside.
Furthermore, transfer the chicken into the baking dish (chicken breasts up). In order to prevent the stuffing from running out, place the whole lemon (of course washed) in the cavity opening to block the “entrance”. Wink.
How to roast a chicken; with foil, without foil or both
Then, drizzle some olive oil over the whole chicken, sprinkle it with salt and pepper and with sweet paprika, too. Using your hands, rub it all over the chicken skin. Before putting it in the oven, pour the wine and water around the chicken, place the garlic halves (cut part up and drizzled with oil) next to the chicken, cover the whole thing tightly with aluminium foil and put to bake for 1 hour.
After one hour, remove the foil and continue to bake for another 30 minutes. Once the chicken turns golden brown, turn on the grill function and grill for 3-5 more minutes. Consequently, the skin will get even crispier. Yummy!
Finally, take the chicken out of the oven and carefully place it on a serving plate or cutting board. Also, place the garlic bulb right next to it. Then, remove the lemon from the cavity and simply squeeze it into the baking dish, where all of the remaining juices are. Give it a quick whisk and strain it through a sieve. And there you have your lovely gravy.
Last but not least, scoop the stuffing out of the chicken and serve it just next to it or in a bowl. Give a piece of the stuffed roasted chicken to each person, along with the gorgeous stuffing, some candy-sweet garlic and lemony gravy.
Dinner is ready! Happy holidays!
PS
If you like the recipe, if you make the recipe or if you have any new ideas how to improve or change it, let me know in the comments section below or alternatively share your photos and reactions with me on Instagram (@Passionspoon), Facebook or Twitter (@PassionSpoon1). Simply use the hashtag #passionspoonrecipes in your posts. I would love to see them! (wink)
