I’ve posted a few roast chicken recipes before but this one tastes really different to the others. Stuffing it with the lemony zucchini and leek mixture imparts so much juiciness and flavour. You’re going to love it.
This is excellent Sunday night food, but as it cooks in about an hour (for a smaller chicken) you could even squeeze it in on a weeknight. Lucky you.
Stuffing the chicken with the zucchini and leek make it so much juicier than using a bread stuffing. And then at the end you have this beautiful flavoursome sort of vegetable relish thing, aka the stuffing, to serve it with. The vegetables soak up all the flavour of the chicken while imparting their flavour into it too. You’re left with a lemon scented chicken and vegetables with a real depth of flavour. And it’s easy!
I made it for lunch last Sunday and shared it with my beautiful friend Elyse. She then went home and made it for dinner, so you know it’s good.
Serve with roasted potatoes or cauliflower and a green salad.
Waste less tip: go ahead and make chicken stock or bone broth from the carcass!
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
1 x 1.5kg chicken, free range organic
2 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 x small zucchini, grated
1 x leek, finely sliced
1 cup finely chopped parsley
1 tsp salt
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp black pepper, ground
Directions
Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius. Pat chicken dry and set aside.
Heat 1 Tbs of oil in small- medium fry pan. Set aside 1.2 cup of the leek and add the rest to the hot pan. Sautee for 1 minute then add the zucchini and parsley. Cook until the zucchini and leek start to colour. Add 1/2 the lemon juice and zest. Set aside to cool.
Once cool enough to touch stuff the zucchini and leek mixture inside the chicken, you can tie the legs together if the stuffing is falling out but otherwise don’t worry.
Squeeze the remaining lemon juice over the chicken and then add the olive oil, massage in to the skin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 1hr. 1/2 way through the cooking time add the reserved leeks to the pan, pushing them up close to the chicken.
Check the thighs after an hour to see if the juices run clear, if not roast for another ten minutes and check again. Repeat until cooked.
Let rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. Make sure you eat that stuffing, and serve the now caramelised leeks and tray juices over the chicken. So much goodness.
HH. x
