ROAST CHICKEN with chestnut and sausage stuffing

Sometimes the stuffing is the best bit of the roast chicken. As the bird cooks, it absorbs all the flavours of the savoury stuffing which is made very creamy by the chestnuts.

(SERVES 2 – 4)

INGREDIENTS

200 g chestnuts, pre-cooked and peeled 2 well-seasoned raw pork sausages, skinned, or well-seasoned sausagemeat 100 g white bread without crust

1 dash of milk

1 sprig of rosemary

1 egg

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 chicken (at least 1.5 kg)

Olive oil, salt and black pepper

500 g small, new potatoes, halved or quartered depending on size

250 g spring onions, green parts removed 2 tablespoons chestnut honey

METHOD

– Save four chestnuts for later. Purée the

rest in a food processor.

– Peel the sausages from their skins and crumble them. Sauté in a pan with a little oil until they start to colour, about five minutes, then take off heat and place in a mixing bowl.

– Soak the bread in a little milk, then squeeze and add to the mixing bowl.

– Remove a few rosemary leaves from the sprig and chop finely. Add to the bowl along with the chestnuts, egg, and fennel seeds. Season with salt and pepper and combine well. This is your stuffing. – Preheat the oven to 180 °C.

– Clean the inside of the chicken and season inside and out with salt and pepper. Fill the chicken cavity with the stuffing and close cavity with toothpicks or kitchen string. – Place the chicken breast-side up into a greased roasting dish, surround with the potatoes, remaining chestnuts, spring onions and rosemary, drizzle with a little oil. – Transfer the chicken to the oven, noting the total cooking time for the size of the bird. Meanwhile, mix the honey with a little oil and brush the chicken twice with the mixture whilst it is roasting, once after about 40 minutes, and once 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time.

– The chicken is done when nicely browned and the juices run clear. Remove from the oven, leave to rest for five minutes in a warm place before serving.