Roast chicken, apricot couscous, eggplant butter

SERVES 4

You will need kitchen string for this recipe. 1.6kg whole chicken

3/4 cup (150g) couscous Zest and juice of 1 lemon

150ml hot chicken stock

3 eschalots, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tsp each ground coriander and cumin

1/4 bunch each coriander and oregano, leaves picked, finely chopped

1/ 3 cup (70g) dried apricots, roughly chopped

1/4 cup (35g) toasted pistachios, roughly chopped

PICKLED EGGPLANT BUTTER

2 tbs pickled eggplant (from supermarkets and specialty food shops – substitute preserved lemon) 250g unsalted butter, at room

temperature, chopped

2 tbs Moroccan seasoning (from

supermarkets and specialty shops) 2 garlic cloves, crushed

1/4 cup loosely packed flat-leaf parsley

leaves, finely chopped

Zest of 1 lemon

Using paper towel, pat dry chicken all over and inside the cavity. Separate the skin from the meat by gently sliding your fingers under the breast skin and in and around the thigh and leg, taking care not to break the skin. Place chicken on an ovenproof wire rack in the fridge, uncovered, for skin to dry. Stand for at least 1 hour or if time permits, overnight. Meanwhile, for the eggplant butter, place the pickled eggplant and 1/4 cup (60ml) water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and stir until melted and smooth.

Cool completely. Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and beat on high speed for 6-8 minutes until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low, add the remaining ingredients and half the pickled eggplant mixture. Season to taste and mix until well combined. Roll mixture into a log and wrap in plastic wrap.

Refrigerate until set, then slice half of the butter into 5mm-thick slices. Return sliced butter to the fridge and place remaining butter in a small bowl at room temperature, ready to serve. To make the apricot couscous stuffing, place the couscous and the lemon zest in a heatproof bowl and stir in the hot stock. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and stand for 6-8 minutes until couscous is tender.

Fluff with a fork. Add remaining ingredients and remaining pickled eggplant mixture, season to taste and stir to combine. Set aside until ready to use. Preheat oven to 200°C. Spread sliced butter under the skin of the chicken, making sure it’s under the breast skin, the leg and thigh skin. Place as much couscous mixture as you can into the chicken cavity, then tie the legs together with kitchen string. Season chicken all over and reserve remaining couscous mixture.

Place chicken on a wire rack in a deep roasting pan and roast for 1 hour-1 hour 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. The chicken skin will darken in spots and caramelise well. This is the sweetness in the pickled eggplant coming through.

Remove from oven and rest, loosely covered with foil, for 15-20 minutes. Place chicken on a platter and serve with reserved softened butter and couscous alongside.