Garlic & nduja rice-stuffed chicken
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Garlic & nduja rice-stuffed chicken

By Melissa Thompson – Journalist and food writer

Contains pork – recipe is for non-Muslims/non-pork eaters.

Do something different with roast chicken by serving it with a rice-based stuffing packed with garlic and nduja flavours. It’s great with green veg and gravy, too

  • Prep:20 mins
    Cook:1 hrs 15 mins
    plus resting
  • More effort

Nutrition per serving

  • kcal 530
  • fat 34g
  • saturates 12g
  • carbs 21g
  • sugars 0g
  • fibre 2g
  • protein 34g
  • salt 0.5g

Ingredients

  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 red onion, finely diced
  • 5 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1½ tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • 30-40g nduja (or 50g chorizo), depending on how hot you like it
  • 130g white or wholemeal long-grain rice, rinsed
  • 60g unsalted butter
  • 1 lemon, zested
  • 1 whole chicken (approx 1.5kg)

Method

  1. Heat half the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and cook the onion until soft and starting to brown, about 10 mins. Stir in 3 crushed garlic cloves, 1 tsp of the cumin, the red pepper flakes, smoked paprika, ½ tsp black pepper and the nduja, breaking it up as you mix it in. Cook for a further 5 mins until the nduja has released its oils.

  2. Stir in the rice until fully coated in the oil, then pour in 250ml water. Cook the rice, uncovered, following pack instructions until almost cooked but retaining some bite, then remove from the heat. Set aside.

  3. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Mix the butter with the remaining garlic, lemon zest, remaining cumin and a small pinch of salt. Loosen the skin of the chicken breast using your hands, carefully, so as not to tear the skin. Work from the widest part of the bird and get close to the neck but not all the way through, and try to loosen the skin above the legs as well. Gently push the garlic butter under the skin as far as it will go. Stuff the cavity with the rice mixture, then tie the legs together to stop it from spilling out.

  4. Rub the skin with the remaining oil and sprinkle with some salt. Roast the chicken for between 1 hr-1 hr 15 mins until cooked through and the juices run clear. Remove from the oven and set aside to rest for 10 mins before carving. Serve with green vegetables and a gravy made from the juices, if you like. Try one of our gravy recipes here.

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