Roast Tarragon Chicken With Potato Stuffing

INGREDIENTS:

1 whole chicken (1.6kg)

200g butter, softened

1tbsp Dijon mustard

3 tbsp fresh tarragon, finely chopped

3 sprigs of fresh tarragon

4 parsnips, peeled and cut in quarters

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the potato stuffing

50g butter

200g onion, finely diced

1 celery stalk, finely diced

1 clove of garlic, crushed

800g potatoes, peeled and diced

200g fine stale breadcrumbs

1 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped

METHOD:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200oC/Gas6.

2. Prepare the whole chicken by rinsing under cold water and pat dry.

3. Place the softened butter in a bowl and stir in the mustard and finely chopped tarragon, season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and mix well. Rub 150g of the tarragon and mustard butter all over the chicken and between the skin and breast meat.

4. Melt the remaining tarragon and mustard butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat, once melted remove fromthe heat. Place the parsnips in a bowl and pour the melted butter on top and toss to coat.

5. Make the potato stuffing by melting the butter in saucepan over a medium heat, once melted stir in the onion, celery and garlic,cover and sweat for 2 minutes. Then remove the lid and stir in the potato, thyme and breadcrumbs. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often so that the it doesn’t burn. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before stuffing the chicken.

6. Stuff the chicken with the potato stuffing, make sure the cavity is only 2/3 full to allow hot air to circulate in the cavity so that the chicken will cook properly.

7. Place the buttered parsnipson to a roasting tin along with the three sprigs of fresh tarragon andplace the whole chicken on top. Transfer to the pre-heated oven and roast for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Baste the chicken half way through cooking.

8. Once the chicken has cooked, remove from the oven and cover with tin foil and allow to rest for 15 minutes and then carve.