Roast chicken with olive and tarragon stuffing

Ingredients One free-range roasting chicken 20 stoned black olives 80g (3oz) white breadcrumbs, not too fresh (i.e. dry) one small onion 80g (3oz) unsalted butter 1 clove garlic a small bunch fresh tarragon 1 medium-sized egg (free-range preferably) ¼ tsp

Ingredients

One free-range roasting chicken

20 stoned black olives

80g (3oz) white breadcrumbs, not too fresh (i.e. dry)

one small onion

80g (3oz) unsalted butter

1 clove garlic

a small bunch fresh tarragon

1 medium-sized egg (free-range preferably)

1/4 tsp grated nutmeg

freshly-ground black pepper

salt to taste

Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 6, 200 deg C, 400 deg F.

Method

To make the stuffing, chop the olives roughly and mix in a bowl with the breadcrumbs. Chop the tarragon finely and add to the bowl. Chop the onion and fry gently in 25g of the butter until just soft, then add to the bowl with the crushed garlic clove, the nutmeg, and some black pepper. Mix well and bind the stuffing together with the beaten egg, then spoon inside the chicken.

Place the chicken in a roasting tin, melt the remaining butter and brush it all over the chicken, then season with salt. Roast the chicken in the pre-heated oven for 11/2 hours or until the juices run clear when the thigh is pricked with a fork. Turn the oven down after 1/2 hour to Gas Mark 3, 160 deg C, 325 deg F. Remove the chicken from the oven when cooked and transfer to a hot dish to carve. Leave the bird for five minutes or so to let the texture settle while you make gravy from the juices. It is then much easier to carve.

JUDY BROADWAY