Stuffed roast chicken

....and if I do say so myself, possibly one of the best roast chickens ;-)

This was the star of the birthday feast requested by Ben.  This served all hungry four of us (and as it's one of Ben's favourite meals, he actually managed to eat quite a bit.)

Ingredients

• good quality chicken (I chose a corn fed one) approx 1.4kg
• sitck or two of celery chopped into large chunks
• a carrot or two chopped into large chunks
• 1 head of garlic, cut in half horizontally
• 1 large onion chopped, quartered
• salt, pepper and paprika to taste
• olive oil for drizzling
• 1 pint vegetable stock for basting

for the stuffing:

• a few slices of day old bread (or, if like me you don't have any, then just partially toast some normal sliced bread)
• 1/2 onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 stick celery
• few sprigs of fresh herbs (sage is traditional, I only had rosemary)
• drizzle of olive oil
• couple tsps water to help it bind
• pinch of salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. blitz the bread in a processor until you have fine crumbs
2. blitz the onion, celery, garlic and herbs in the processor until they are finely chopped, then sweat them off in a little olive oil until softened, seasoning with a little salt and pepper
3. add the onion mix to the breadcrumbs, drizzle with a little olive oil and the water and mix together until the mixture is starting to bind a little.  Set aside
4. throw the chopped vegetables into a large casserole dish and drizzle with a little olive oil (make sure the garlic is cut face down

5. clean out the cavity of the chicken and rinse, then sprinkle the inside with a little salt, and pepper
6. lay the chicken onto the vegetables and season all over with salt, pepper and paprika

7. stuff the chicken loosely with the stuffing mixture (do not pack it too tightly as you want the heat to be able to circulate properly)
 
8. drizzle the chicken with a little olive oil and cover loosely with foil
9. put into a pre-heated oven and cook for about 50 mins at approx 175 degrees, basting with the veg stock every 20 mins or so
10. uncover the chicken, turn it onto its breast and cook for a further 50 mins this side down, again basting it every 20 mins or so
11. turn the chicken back the right way up and pour the remainder of the veg stock over it.  Cook now until the juices run clear when you stick a skewer into the thigh - depending on weight of the chicken and how efficient your oven is, probably another 20-30 mins (mine's a very hot oven)

12. Put the chicken on a serving plate and place some of the garlic cloves (which should be all soft and buttery) around it, along with the roasted carrots and cover with foil to rest
13. meanwhile, pour all the lovely stock and juices, with the rest of the roasted vegetables into a pan and bring to the boil.  Thicken with a cornflour mixture, or gravy granules (yes, I confess, I use these sometimes!)
14. serve!  I piled on lots of Ben's favourite crispy roast potatoes with rosemary and served it all with a large yorkshire pudding, a big bowl of vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, spring cabbage), the chicken juices and, because we are caribbean, the ever present bowl of rice.  Yes, rice.  We eat it with almost everything.  oh, and don't forget the hot sauce!
15. Enjoy!