I have yet again come to a full stop at the end of a busy week. After having had a few days of glorious weather, people buzzing around with a carefree summer holiday kind of vibe, the weather has again taken a cooler turn. Needless to say, this is very typical of British weather. I went from getting sun burnt one day to being back in my winter coat and getting blown all over the next.
A symptom of our busy evenings, is grabbing whatever you can to eat. So, as usual, I’m looking forward to cooking up a hearty meal for the whole family to share. As the weather has turned a little cooler and we’re all feeling a bit tired and in need of some comfort, I made the decision to stop messing around with chicken, doing silly things like stuffing it with beer cans and to do a good old traditional roast dinner instead.
One of my favourite things to eat as a child was the kind of Sunday roast that my Mum and Grandmother would make. They both used to make the best stuffing. I guess there were times that they would be inclined to use the trusty dry stuffing mix that you can buy, but most of the time it would be made from scratch. The best bit of the stuffing is the bit that oozes out of the chicken cavity and has gone all crispy and golden. I think we all used to fight over who was going to get it. Our roast meals would end with us all picking at the chicken, leaving only the carcass. There would be a squabble to get the two little pieces underneath the chicken that I now believe to be called the oysters. My mum would often then make what we called Stone soup for dinner on a Monday evening with what was left of the chicken.
When I was mulling over the roast of the week, I thought that it would be good to share our meal with some friends. As a child, our family would often get together on a weekend for a big family roast. I have very fond memories of these times. We live many miles from all of our family now, so big family meals are a rarity. Given this distance, I love to invite good friends over to recreate the family get together atmosphere. I decided to cook this recipe which is taken from Rachel Allen’s book “Rachel’s Food for Living”. I love this book and refer to it often. It always serves me well.
One of my very dearest friends Julie, her husband Barry and daughter joined us for our Sunday roast. I couldn’t think of anyone better to spend a Sunday afternoon with. Julie has been a total God send of a friend. She has always been there for me and for some reason, still talks to me after all she’s had to put up with! Julie also shares my love for Rachel Allen recipes and roast dinners. They are fabulous house guests, turning up with a bottle of my favourite wine and flowers. There was even a tin of gorgeous cake. It was a lemon and coconut cake, a flavour that I had never had before. I can highly recommend it. It went down very well with a good old pot of tea. Needless to say, no sooner had the tea pot been emptied than the wine was opened.
Luckily, the roast was ready to eat before we had consumed too much Rioja. The chicken was so easy to make. It’s pretty much a bog standard roast chicken, but the stuffing was so zesty, it complemented the chicken perfectly. It definitely hit the spot and gave my soul the comfort it has been needing all week. Obviously the great company and giggles made all the difference. We finished the meal off with, dare I say it, yet another Rachel Allen recipe. It is a trusty rhubarb and plum crumble. I love it as it has cardamon in it which gives it an edge. All in all, it turned out to be a top roast dinner. There was not a shred of meat left on the carcass yet we still managed to polish off a massive crumble. It was just a shame that the evening had to come to an end. After all, we have to be back at work and school in the morning.
Ingredients
1 large chicken 1.5-2.25Kg
A small knob of butter
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Stuffing
25g butter
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp chopped fresh sage
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
Juice of ½ a lemon
100g soft breadcrumbs
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°c
First, make the stuffing. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the onion. Cover and cook over a low heat for 8-10 minutes, until the onion is soft. Take off the heat, then stir in the chopped herbs, lemon zest, lemon juice and breadcrumbs. Season to taste.
Spoon the stuffing into the chicken carcass and place the chicken in a roasting tray. Smear the knob of butter over the skin and sprinkle with some sea salt and pepper. Roast for an hour and a half to an hour and three quarters until cooked. When cooked, transfer the chicken to a serving plate and leave to rest, in a warm oven in possible.
Just A Roast Chicken 