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Festive roast chicken with sausage and prune stuffing

Name: Festive roast chicken with sausage and prune stuffing
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 85 min
Total time: 130 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 sourdough loaf, halved horizontally; 20g unsalted butter, softened; 1 medium potato, very thinly sliced (we used a mandoline); 1/4 cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil; 100g pitted prunes, finely chopped; 1 tbs finely chopped basil leaves; 1/2 bunch sage, leaves picked, finely chopped; 1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed; 3 tsp picked thyme leaves, finely chopped; 3 garlic cloves, crushed; 500g pork and fennel sausages, casings removed; 1.5kg whole chicken

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45m

1h 25m

Festive roast chicken with sausage and prune stuffing

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by Colin Fassnidge

Chef and My Kitchen Rules judge

Nov 17, 2018

Anthony Puharich discovers Colin Fassnidge doesn’t stuff around with his famed festive chicken. And the key to its success is as crazy as the clan who gather round the Christmas table to eat it.

1 sourdough loaf, halved horizontally
20g unsalted butter, softened
1 medium potato, very thinly sliced (we used a mandoline)
1/4 cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil
100g pitted prunes, finely chopped
1 tbs finely chopped basil leaves
1/2 bunch sage, leaves picked, finely chopped
1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
3 tsp picked thyme leaves, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
500g pork and fennel sausages, casings removed
1.5kg whole chicken

Method

1.

Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2.

Place bottom half of sourdough on a baking tray (reserve top half for breadcrumbs or croutons). Spread with butter, top with potato and drizzle with 1 tbs oil.
3.

To make stuffing, combine prune, basil, sage, fennel, thyme, garlic, sausage meat and 1 tbs oil in a bowl. Spread stuffing over potato slices. Top with chicken, tying the legs together with kitchen string. Rub chicken with a pinch of salt flakes and remaining 1 tbs oil, then roast, breast-side up, turning halfway to breast-side down, for 1 hour 25 minutes or until the juices of the chicken run clear when the thickest part of a thigh is pierced with a skewer.
4.

Using a cleaver or kitchen shears, carve chicken into pieces and serve with thickly sliced sourdough, potato and stuffing.