STUFFED ROAST CHICKEN

ALICE SAYS: The combination of chicken and smoky chorizo is a classic, and this stuffing is so yummy that I’d urge you to cook double the amount so you can scoff the ‘leftovers’.

To make the stuffing I fry the chorizo in some olive oil and then add the onion and garlic. Next in goes some thyme, the cannellini beans and tomatoes with a bit of their oil.

At this point many of us might stop – the stuffing is healthy comfort food at its absolute best, a divine meal in itself. However, we are supposed to be serving this with the chicken.

With that in mind, I put in as much stuffing as I can bear into the cavity and seal it with the lemon, then tuck in the skin to keep it sealed. Then I massage olive oil and the paprika into the skin and wash my hands thoroughly afterwards (nobody likes paprika in their eyes).

Add 200ml of water, the wine and some more thyme to the roasting pan and cover the whole lot with foil.

Leave it in the oven for an hour and then remove the foil. After putting the bird back in the oven for another 30 minutes I remove, and allow it to rest.

Remove the lemon and squeeze into the cooking juices to add some zest to the gravy.

This excellent chicken has a light taste of pepperoni and the stuffing takes on a tangy lemon flavour too.

All in all, the perfect meal.

From Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Cookery Course, Hodder & Stoughton. You can also watch him cook the recipe himself on YouTube.