Spicy Roast Chicken With Stuffing

Vegetable oil

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 heaped tsp ginger & garlic paste

A few dried fruits, finely chopped

1 cup prepared cous cous

1 lemon or lime

100g butter (room temperature)

2 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp somph powder

1 tsp dhania & jeera powder

Fresh thyme

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 large handful roasted almonds or pecans ¼ cup breadcrumbs

1 whole chicken, about 1.5kg

8 large potatoes (cut into wedges)

Preheat your oven to 220°C. Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add onion and dried fruit, and cook for about 3 minutes until soft.

Remove from the heat and add thyme sprigs, ground nuts, breadcrumbs, the zest and juice of a lemon/lime, 1 tsp garlic and ginger paste, salt and pepper, and set aside.

Parboil the potatoes and cut into wedges, or you can use whole baby potatoes, then sprinkle with salt and spices, and toss until well coated.

Add the spices, some thyme, 1 tsp ginger and garlic paste to the butter, and set aside.

Add 1 cup boiling water to the cous cous and allow the liquid to be absorbed. Once all the liquid has been absorbed, toss with fork, add a swig of olive oil or a piece of butter to help separate the grains. Add cous cous to onion mixture and mix well.

Remove the giblets from the cavity of the chicken, rinse the chicken and rub the butter mixture on the inside of the chicken and the outside, mix any leftover butter mixture and add to the stuffing mixture, packing it in well. If there is any leftover stuffing, shape into balls.

Pour a little oil in a roasting pan, ensuring that the oil covers the whole surface, place the chicken in, drizzle with a little more oil (you can use the leftover fat from the pan) and rub the rest of the butter over, season with salt and pepper and more thyme.

Place in the preheated oven and turn the heat down to 200°C. Cook for 40 minutes, basting with liquid from the pan periodically, this keeps the chicken moist.

Place the potato wedges around the chicken along with the stuffing balls and place in the oven for another 20 minutes.

To check if the chicken is cooked, poke the fattest part of the thigh with a skewer – if the juices run clear, the chicken is done, if it is bloody or pink, then replace chicken in oven. Remove from the oven, loosely cover with foil and allow to rest for 10 to 15 minutes Serve with roasted potato wedges, vegetables and a gravy

To make gravy: after removing the chicken from the roasting pan, deglaze the pan by pouring a little wine or water in pan. Using a spatula loosen all the bits of roasted chicken and potato that may be stuck to the pan, add about a tablespoon of flour and mix well with the fat, add some water or cream and stir until a pouring consistency. Taste, adjust seasoning and pour into a gravy boat ready for serving.