BAKING HALF CHICKEN RECIPES

1. You don’t often see whole chicken that’s been stuffed like this. I think that’s a real shame because it adds such beautiful flavour and the natural juices from the chicken will give you the most gorgeous stuffing.
2. Preheat your oven to 240°C/475°F/gas 9. Heat a good lug of olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add your onion and garlic and cook for about 10 minutes until soft, but not coloured. Add the mushrooms with the leaves from a few of your thyme sprigs. Turn the heat up to high and fry for 5 to 10 minutes until the mushrooms go slightly crispy. Remove from the heat, grate in the zest of the lemon and season well. Tip into a bowl and leave to one side to cool.
3. Once the mixture has cooled, use clean hands to mix in the pine nuts and breadcrumbs, then add the egg. Carefully, push your fingers between the meat and skin on the top of the chicken then gently create a pocket for the stuffing. Push a quarter of the stuffing into this pocket and roll the remaining mixture into balls and pop to one side. Cut your zested lemon in half and place in the chicken cavity with the remaining thyme sprigs. Pop your chicken in a roasting tray, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
4. Place in the preheated oven and turn the heat down to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Cook for 40 minutes, then add your mushroom stuffing balls to the tray. Return to the oven and cook for a further 35 minutes until gorgeous and golden. To check your chicken is cooked, stick a skewer into the fattest part of the thigh – if the juices run clear, your chicken is done. Leave to rest for 10 to 15 minutes, covered loosely with tin foil, then serve with fluffy roast potatoes and seasonal greens.

1. Fill a small pan with water, place over a medium heat and bring to the boil.
2. Meanwhile, halve, deseed and finely chop the pepper. Trim and finely slice the spring onions. Bash the olives and tear out the stones, if needed, then roughly chop. Halve the cherry tomatoes, then place it all into a large bowl and set aside.
3. Place the couscous into a bowl, cover with 250ml of the boiling water. Cover with a plate and set aside.
4. While the couscous is steaming, coarsely grate the cucumber into a small bowl, add a pinch of sea salt and leave for 5 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, place the chicken on a plate. Drizzle over 1 teaspoon of olive oil, the oregano and a pinch of black pepper. Finely grate over the lemon zest, then turn the chicken over to coat.
6. Using clean hands, gently squeeze the moisture from the grated cucumber into the sink, then return to the bowl. Stir in the yoghurt, a good squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of pepper. Pick and finely chop the mint leaves, then stir half into the yoghurt mixture.
7. Using a speed-peeler, peel the carrot, then continue shaving it into long ribbons. Place into a small bowl, season with a pinch of salt and pepper and add a good squeeze of lemon juice.
8. Heat a non-­stick frying pan on a medium-high heat.
9. Meanwhile, fluff up the couscous with a fork, then add stir through the chopped vegetables with the remaining chopped mint. Add 2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil and the juice of half a lemon. Stir well and season to taste with black pepper.
10. Place the chicken into the hot pan and fry for 10 minutes, or until cooked through, turning from time to time, then slice into rough strips.
11. Divide the couscous between plates, top with the carrot salad and chicken, then serve with the tzatziki.

1. Roughly chop the celery, leeks, onions and carrots. Leaving it unpeeled, bash the half bulb of garlic.
2. Place the chicken carcasses, garlic, vegetables, herbs and peppercorns in a large, deep-bottomed pan. Add the cold water and bring to the boil, skim, then turn the heat down to a simmer. Continue to simmer gently for 3-4 hours, skimming as necessary, then pass the stock through a fine sieve.
3. Allow to cool for about half an hour, then refrigerate. Once the stock is cold it should look clear and slightly amber in colour. I usually divide it into small plastic containers at this point and freeze it. It will keep in the fridge for about 4 days and in the freezer for 2-3 months.

Mix together the smoked paprika, chilli, cumin, cayenne and garlic powder. Rub half into the chicken pieces. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large deep frying pan and cook the chicken for 5-6 minutes until golden all over and almost cooked. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet. Drain well and set aside, reserving a little of the cooking water.

Heat the remaining oil in the pan and cook the onion along with the remaining spice mix for 3-4 minutes until tender. Season, then add the peppers and cook for another 3-4 minutes until just soft.

Add the chicken back to the pan along with the tomato puree. Cook for 2 minutes, then stir in the cooked pasta, salsa and sour cream. Heat through, and if the sauce needs loosening, add a little of the reserved pasta water until you reach a desired consistency. Sprinkle over the cheese to serve.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. In a large ovenproof pan, heat the oil and cook the bacon for 5 minutes until crispy. Remove and reserve for later. 

Add the onion, courgette and aubergine to the pan and fry for 5 minutes. Then add the tomatoes, garlic, chilli, passata, chicken stock cube and 50ml water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for another 5 minutes. 

Add the chicken thigh fillets, mixed herbs, the reserved bacon and half the parsley. Stir to coat the chicken in sauce and cook for 30 minutes in the oven. Remove from the oven and serve straight away garnished with the remaining parsley and seasoned with freshly ground black pepper.