Roast chicken stuffed with tomato rice with a charred lime salad
- Prepare
- 1-2 hours
- Cook
- 1 to 2 hours
- Serve
- Serves 6–8
A summery, generous spread that is sure to impress a crowd. The August alternative to a cosy roast.
Ingredients
For the stuffed roast chicken
- 250g/9oz long-grain rice
- 1 large chicken, about 2kg/4lb 8oz
- 40g/1½oz unsalted butter
- 1–2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, roughly chopped
- thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 50g/1¾oz sun-dried tomato paste
- 1 tbsp chipotle en adobo
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- 260g/9¼oz cherry tomatoes, quartered, or 1 x 400g tin
- 500ml/18fl oz chicken stock or water
- 200ml/7fl oz white wine
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the chipotle butter
For the salad dressing
For the butterhead salad
- 1 butterhead lettuce, leaves separated
- handful fresh tarragon, leaves picked
- handful fresh flatleaf parsley, leaves picked
- 1 avocado, chopped
- small handful of chiltatis, toasted pumpkin seeds or flaked almonds
Method
To make the stuffed roast chicken, before you begin, soak the rice in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes, and remove the chicken from the refrigerator to allow it to come to room temperature.
Heat a casserole dish (Dutch oven) or saucepan over a medium heat. Once hot, add the butter and olive oil. Stir in the onion, season generously with salt and pepper and sweat for around 10 minutes.
Add the ginger and garlic and cook for 3–4 minutes more then add the sun-dried tomato paste, chipotle and allspice. Stir in the tomatoes, then drain the rice and add that too.
Stir for a few minutes to coat the rice, then pour in the stock or water. Simmer for 15 minutes, then turn off the heat. By this time, the tomatoes will have started to break down and will be smelling fragrant and delicious, but the rice will not yet be cooked; it will finish cooking in the oven.
To make the chipotle butter, use a pestle and mortar or small blender to make a paste with the garlic, allspice, salt and herbs. Work in the chipotle and butter.
To cook the stuffed roast chicken, preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
Put the chicken in a roasting tray and loosen the skin around the breasts and thighs. Push two-thirds of the chipotle butter under the skin, smearing the rest all over the outside of the chicken.
Now stuff the chicken with the red rice, scooping what doesn't fit inside the roasting tray under the chicken. Pour in the wine, then roast for 45–50 minutes until the chicken is golden and the juices run clear when the thighs are pierced with a skewer. As a rule, allow 15 minutes per 500g/1lb 2oz of bird, plus 15 minutes. I cut between the chicken thighs and body after 35 minutes, to allow the insides of the thighs to cook without overcooking the breasts.
Meanwhile, to make the salad dressing, heat a small frying pan over a high heat and pour in 1 teaspoon of the oil. Add the lime halves, cut side down, and fry for a few minutes until nicely blackened.
Squeeze the lime juice into a bowl with the mustard, vinegar and honey and season generously with salt and pepper. Whisk to emulsify the ingredients and then add the remaining oil.
Taste and adjust the seasoning; the salad will dilute the strength of the dressing, so do not be afraid to season well. Stir the shallots into the dressing, then set aside.
To make the butterhead salad, wash the lettuce leaves, spin dry and arrange in a salad bowl, in its original shape, as if it were still held together. Finely chop the herbs and scatter over the lettuce and top with the avocado and chiltatis, seeds or almonds.
Pour over the salad dressing and serve at once with the carved chicken alongside.
