Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (1.2g-1.5g)
Salt and pepper
Fresh basil and parsley, roughly torn (dried ones will do too)
4 tbsp olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
chicken stuffing
2 tbsp cooking olive oil
200g picnic ham, cubed
150g cooked chestnuts (or water chestnuts), quartered
150g button mushrooms, quartered
Fresh basil, roughly torn
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1. place chicken on a roasting tray and rub with salt, pepper and fresh herbs. Drizzle olive oil and lemon juice, and massage into the chicken. (can stuff herbs under its skin too!)
2. Cover tray with clear wrap and leave chicken to marinate in the refrigerator overnight
3. To prepare chicken stuffing, heat pan with olive oil. Toss in cubed ham, chestnuts and button mushrooms and stir-fry for 3-4 min. Stir in basil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Leave stuffing to cool for about 15 min.
4. Pack the chicken cavity with the cooked stuffing. Secure the cavity by inserting a clean toothpick across the opening.
5. Roast chicken in a preheated oven at 225 degree celcius for 1 hour. You can also add carrots and sweet potatoes in the tray to roast together with the chicken
6. Pierce the chicken with a skewer to check if it is cooked. Remove it from the oveen when its juices run clear. Rest the meat for 20 min before carving.
yum! 