Roast chicken stuffed with spring vegies

Name: Roast chicken stuffed with spring vegies
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Modern Australian
Ingredients: 1 large free-range chicken (about 1.8kg); salt, to season; 2 tbsp olive oil; green or red oak lettuce leaves, to serve

Adam Liaw

September 27, 2018

Roast chicken stuffed with spring vegies.William Meppem

Time:1-2 hoursServes:4

This roast chicken is an all-in-one meal. The stuffing is a complete side dish in itself, so there's nothing else for you to do but make a gravy, add a few salad leaves and serve.

Ingredients

1 large free-range chicken (about 1.8kg)
salt, to season
2 tbsp olive oil
green or red oak lettuce leaves, to serve

Vegetable stuffing

¼ cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 large brown onion, peeled and diced
1 large sweet potato, peeled and grated
1 carrot, diced
1 cup small broccoli florets
1 cup small cauliflower florets
400g tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed well under cold water (optional)
½ cup frozen peas
3 thick spring onions, sliced
¼ tsp curry powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
¼ cup finely shredded parsley
8 sprigs thyme leaves, stripped from their stalks
1 tsp ground sage
1 sprig fresh rosemary, leaves stripped
1 tsp salt

Gravy

1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
¼ tsp Vegemite
½ cup white wine
1½ cups stock or water

Method

Preheat your oven to 220°C (200°C fan-forced). For the vegetable stuffing, heat a large frying pan over medium heat and add the oil. Add the garlic and onion and fry for about 4 minutes until golden brown, then add the remaining ingredients and fry for a further 5 minutes, until softened. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Put the warm stuffing into the chicken, packing it into the back cavity as well as into the neck cavity. Pack any leftover stuffing into a ramekin, or wrap it in foil. Season the chicken well with salt and drizzle with olive oil, rubbing it all over the skin. Place the chicken and any leftover stuffing on a rack in a roasting tray. Roast for 1 hour until the chicken is just cooked through, then set aside to rest while you make the gravy.
For the gravy, place the roasting pan over medium heat and add the butter, flour and Vegemite, mixing until the flour is lightly browned. Add the wine, stirring to lift any brown bits from the bottom of the pan, then gradually add the stock or water, continuing to stir until the gravy thickens. then pass through a sieve. Serve with the chicken, the stuffing and a few salad leaves.