Chicken Entertaining Italian

Roast chicken with lemon, sage and parsley stuffing

Name: Roast chicken with lemon, sage and parsley stuffing recipe
Yield: 4
Cuisine: /italian
Ingredients: 4 rashers smoky bacon, cut into 2cm pieces; 60g unsalted butter; 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle; 1 onion, finely chopped; 1 garlic clove, finely chopped; 1 pinch dried chilli flakes (optional); 1/2 tsp ground allspice; 2 each sage & parsley sprigs, leaves chopped; Finely grated zest & juice of 1 lemon; 250g day-old crustless sourdough bread, torn into large pieces; 1 x 1.6kg chicken, halved, backbone removed; 1/2 cup roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley

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by Darren Robertson

Chef, author, tv presenter and co-owner of the Three Blue Ducks restaurants

Aug 01, 2020

Tear up some bread for rustic Italian-style salads, or place a whole roast chicken on some stale bread to soak up all the delicious pan juices.

4 rashers smoky bacon, cut into 2cm pieces
60g unsalted butter
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 pinch dried chilli flakes (optional)
1/2 tsp ground allspice
2 each sage & parsley sprigs, leaves chopped
Finely grated zest & juice of 1 lemon
250g day-old crustless sourdough bread, torn into large pieces
1 x 1.6kg chicken, halved, backbone removed
1/2 cup roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley

Method

1.

Preheat oven to 180°C. Place bacon in a large non-stick deep frypan over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, for 6-8 minutes until fat has rendered and the bacon begins to brown. Add butter, oil, onion and garlic and cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes until onion has softened. Add chilli flakes, if using, allspice, herbs, lemon zest, juice and breadcrumbs and stir to coat in the butter. Season.
2.

Transfer mixture to a large roasting pan in a pile big enough to sit the chicken on top. Place the chicken halves on top of the stuffing, skin-side up. Season and drizzle with oil. Roast for 55 minutes-1 hour until chicken is cooked through. Remove from the pan and rest for 15 minutes.
3.

Meanwhile, return pan with the stuffing to the oven for a further 6-8 minutes until crispy. Remove from the oven and stir through chopped parsley. Serve chicken with the stuffing.