Chicken with Cheese and Courgette Stuffing
A light cheese and courgette stuffing helps to keep this simple roast chicken moist during cooking and adds to its flavour. For the best-tasting chicken, use one that has been free-range or corn-fed. Serve it with potatoes, carrots and leeks, or cold with a salad.
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 lb oven-ready chicken
- 12 oz courgettes
- 3 oz fresh breadcrumbs
- 7 oz low-fat soft cheese
- 1/2 oz fresh chives
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon plain flour
- 1/4 pint chicken stock
Instructions
- Wipe the chicken inside and out with a piece of kitchen towel, and trim and discard any excess fat.
- Thickly slice the courgettes and steam them for 5 minutes. Leave to cool, then chop finely.
- Combine the courgettes, breadcrumbs, cheese and chives in a bowl, and season and spoon the stuffing into the body cavity. Pin the flap of neck skin under the bird with a skewer. Brush the bird with oil and place in a roasting tin in the oven.
- After 30 minutes, cover the chicken skin with foil if it is getting too brown. Roast for 1 1/4 hours or until the juices are clear when a skewer is run through the thick part of the thigh. When cooked, leave the chicken to rest for 5 minutes.
- Put the flour into a cup. Add 2 tablespoons of chicken juices and mix to a smooth paste. Stir the mixture into any juices left in the roasting tin. Slowly add the stock, stirring until the sauce thickens, and simmer for 2 - 3 minutes. Season the sauce.
- Remove the stuffing and serve it separately in a small bowl
Calories: 738 kcal
Carbohydrates: 23 g
Protein: 52 g
Fat: 50g
Saturated Fat: 19 g
Trans Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 196 mg
Sodium: 604 mg
Potassium: 674 mg
Fiber: 3 g
Sugar: 4 g
Vitamin A: 1089 IU
Vitamin C: 25 mg
Calcium: 397 mg
Iron: 4 mg