Stuffed Roast Chicken
(source: Gordon Ramsay Ultimate Cookery)

Prep Time:20 min.
Cook Time:1 1/2 hrs.

Ingredients:

  • 3 1/2- to 4 lb chicken
  • 1 lemon
  • olive oil, for drizzling
  • 1 tsp (heaped) paprika (sweet or smoked, as preferred)
  • 3/4 cu white wine
  • 3/4 cu water
Chorizo stuffing:
  • olive oil, for frying
  • 3 oz (85 g) chorizo, skinned and cubed
  • 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced
  • 1 bunch of thyme sprigs
  • 15 oz (1 tin) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 3.5 oz (1 package) semi-dried/sunblush (or sun-dried) tomatoes (in oil)
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).
  2. First make the stuffing.
    1. Heat a little olive oil in a large frying pan, add the chorizo and fry for about 3 min until turning golden.
    2. Add the onion and cook for a minute or two until softened.
    3. Add the garlic, for a further couple of minutes.
    4. Add the leaves of 3 thyme sprigs.
    5. Stir in the cannellini beans.
    6. Season well with salt and pepper.
    7. Cook for a minute or two to warm through.
    8. Add the tomatoes and a couple of tablespoons of the oil they were stored in.
    9. Stir to combine then remove from the heat.
  3. Prepare the chicken. Remove the excess fat from the chicken and pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Season the cavity with salt and pepper, then fill with the chorizo stuffing. Place a whole lemon at the cavity opening, tucking any excess skin over it. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil, sprinkle over the paprika and season with salt and pepper. Rub into the chicken skin.
  4. Pour the wine and water into a roasting tray and season. Add the chicken and the remaining sprigs of thyme, then cover with foil and roast for 1 hour in the preheated oven.
  5. After 1 hour, remove the foil from the chicken, baste with the roasting juices and turn the oven up to 395 F (200 C). Roast for another 30 min until the skin is golden brown and the juices from the thigh run clear (instant thermometer should register about 160 F). Remove from the oven and rest for 15 min before serving.
  6. Remove the lemon from the chicken cavity, and squeeze the juice into the pan juices. Whisk together to create a light gravy—if you prefer a thicker gravy, reduce over high heat.
  7. Strain the gravy through a fine sieve.
Serves: 2

How to keep the chicken moist while roasting:

  1. Roasting chicken under a tent of foil with stock and water is a lovely way to keep it moist during the first part of cooking. Once it has steamed for an hour, you simply remove the foil for the final 30 minutes to brown the breasts. The resulting chicken will be much plumper and fuller than if you had roasted it all the way.