This baby marrow and cream cheese-stuffed deboned chicken is a lighter, fresher take on Christmas fare – perfect for those who find traditional roasts and accompaniments too rich. Ask your butcher to debone your chicken for you, but do this a few days before you plan to serve it as most butchers will need a little time.
Baby marrow and cream cheese-stuffed deboned chicken with summer greens and herb butter
Ingredients
Baby marrow stuffing
- olive oil ,to fry
- 1 onion, peeled and finely diced
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
- 100g baby marrows, grated
- 30g Parmesan, grated
- 60g dried breadcrumbs
- 90g cream cheese, softened
- 30ml (2 tbsp) chives, chopped
- salt and freshly ground black
- pepper, to taste
Chicken
- 1 chicken, tunnel deboned with leg
- bones still in
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and cut in half
- large knob butter, softened
- fresh thyme leaves, to sprinkle
Herb butter
- 120g butter, softened
- handful fresh parsley, roughly
- chopped
- handful chives, chopped
Summer greens
- 200g asparagus, blanched
- 180g fine beans, blanched
- 120g fresh peas, blanched
- 120g sugar snap peas, blanched
- lemon wedges, to serve
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180°C. For the stuffing, heat a little olive oil in a pan over low heat and sauté the onion and minced garlic until soft, 10 minutes. Combine with the remaining stuffing ingredients and season to taste.
Stuff your deboned chicken with the stuffing and truss the legs using string. Rub the chicken skin with the garlic-clove halves and butter and sprinkle with thyme leaves. Roast your chicken in the oven until the skin is golden and a small incision on the thigh reveals that the juices run clear, about 1 hour.
While the chicken roasts, make the herb butter by combining all of the ingredients and seasoning to taste.
Serve the chicken with room temperature summer greens, herb butter and lemon wedges for squeezing.
