A different way to go about your roast chicken dinner. Super delicious, succulent chicken, stuffed with wild garlic and smoked lardo. You’ll soon be casting your eye around for the next thing to bone and roll.
Cooking meat and fish on the bone is often advised, but sometimes it is fun to do something a little different. Like boning out a chicken, stuffing it with things it loves to be eaten with, namely wild garlic and smoked pork fat, then rolling it up, browning the skin, basting it in butter and roasting. Just listing the process and ingredients is enough to get the culinary senses going.
The stuffing serves a dual purpose, helping to keep the bird moist during cooking whilst also imparting all those additional flavours into the flesh. You just know it is going to be delicious.
Serves: 4
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
Mash
Gravy
Method
- Remove the chicken from the fridge and its packaging, then season well with fine sea salt. Leave for about an hour to come up to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Set a cast-iron skillet over a high heat and add the oil. Place the chicken in the pan and brown the skin well all over, rotating regularly. Reduce the heat if needed.
- Once the chicken is nicely browned, add a knob of butter and begin basting.
- Transfer the skillet to the oven and cook for 15 minutes. Remove, baste the chicken and rotate it by 90 degrees. Return to the oven for a further 15 minutes, aiming for an internal temperature of 69°C, which will rise to around 72°C as it rests.
- Remove from the oven and rest for about 30 minutes before carving.
To Make the Mash
- Cut the potatoes into evenly sized chunks and place in a pan with a generous handful of salt, then cover with cold water. Set over a high heat and bring to the boil. Simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until fully cooked.
- Drain the potatoes into a colander and cover with a tea towel. Leave to steam dry for 10 minutes.
- In a small pan, melt the butter with the cream and milk.
- Pass the potatoes through a potato ricer back into the pan they were cooked in. Once all the potato has gone through the ricer, add about half of the dairy and beat vigorously over a very low heat with a wooden spoon. Once combined, add the remaining dairy in stages, beating after each addition. All potatoes are different, so be prepared to add a little more milk or cream if needed to loosen the mash.
- Check the seasoning and adjust if needed.
To Make the Gravy and Serve
- To make the gravy, remove the chicken from the skillet it was cooked in, leaving the juices behind. Place the skillet over a medium heat and add the wine. Bring to a simmer and reduce for 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle in the flour and whisk to combine, then add the hot stock gradually, whisking as you go.
- Once all the stock has been added, leave to simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the gravy has reached your preferred consistency.
- Add the wild garlic leaves and a splash of vinegar, then taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary.
- Return the chicken to the oven for 5 minutes to bring it back up to temperature before carving.













