Roast chicken with leek, tarragon & goat's cheese stuffing

Name: Roast chicken with leek, tarragon & goat's cheese stuffing
Prep time: 2 h 40 min
Cook time: 2 h 40 min
Total time: 2 h 40 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Global
Ingredients: 2 mediums leeks, trimmed and washed; 1 Spanish onion, trimmed and washed; 85 grams unsalted butter, softened; 2 sprigs fresh mint; 3 bushy sprigs of fresh tarragon; 2 sprigs fresh thyme; 100 grams about 4oz soft fresh goats cheese (rindless) or ricotta; 4 Tbsps finely grated Parmesan; 50 grams fresh white breadcrumbs; 227 grams a large chicken, about 2½ kg 5lb; 1 Tbsp olive oil

Roast chicken with leek, tarragon & goat's cheese stuffing takes approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes from beginning to end. One serving contains 279 calories, 10g of protein, and 22g of fat. This recipe serves 6. This recipe covers 9% of your daily requirements of vitamins and minerals. 19 people found this recipe to be tasty and satisfying. It can be enjoyed any time, but it is especially good for Thanksgiving. Head to the store and pick up leeks, olive oil, mint, and a few other things to make it today.

Instructions

Chop the leeks and onion fairly finely: use the pulse button if chopping them in a food processor, so they dont turn to mush. Melt 25g/1oz butter in a large frying pan placed over a lowish heat and fry the vegetables gently for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until soft. Set the pan aside to cool.

Ingredients you will need

Vegetable

Butter

Leek

Onion

Equipment you will use

Food Processor

Frying Pan

Strip off all the herb leaves and put them in a food processor with the remaining butter, the cheeses, breadcrumbs and the cooled vegetables. Season, then pulse until the mixture is a rough, sticky, dough-like mass.

Ingredients you will need

Breadcrumbs

Vegetable

Butter

Dough

Equipment you will use

Food Processor

Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6/fan 180C.

Equipment you will use

Oven

Place the chicken with the large cavity facing towards you.

Ingredients you will need

Whole Chicken

Remove and discard any fat remaining inside the opening. Now gently separate the skin over the breast area from the flesh beneath: use the tip of a small knife to get going, then gently ease your fingers in between and work them to the far end on both sides of the breast bone.

Ingredients you will need

Bone

Equipment you will use

Knife

Without tearing the skin, push in dollops of stuffing, massaging them right down and over the flesh. (Put any leftover stuffing into the small neck cavity.) Pull the skin back into place and seal in the stuffing by stitching 2-3 wooden toothpicks through the edges of the opening, like a needle in a tapestry. You can make the stuffing up to 24 hours ahead, keeping it cling-filmed in the fridge.

Ingredients you will need

Stuffing

Equipment you will use

Toothpicks

Put the chicken in a snug-fitting roasting tin, smear the skin with oil and season. Roast the chicken, breast-side up, for 30 minutes. Turn the chicken on its side, basting with any juices, and roast for a further 30 minutes, then roast for an equal period on the other side. Now turn the chicken breast-side up again, and continue to roast for 10-30 minutes, or until the juices run clear when a skewer is poked into the thickest part of the thigh.

Ingredients you will need

Chicken Breast

Whole Chicken

Cooking Oil

Equipment you will use

Skewers

Leave the chicken to rest in the tin for 15-20 minutes, loosely draped with foil. To serve, first remove the toothpicks, then carve the chicken, spooning some of the soft stuffing onto each serving.

Ingredients you will need

Stuffing

Whole Chicken

Equipment you will use

Toothpicks

Aluminum Foil