Roast Chicken with a California Prune, Apple & Pistachio Stuffing

Prune It is a healthy eating campaign designed to educate consumers to understand the role that California Prunes can play in helping to help reduce the fat and sugar content across a wide range of recipes.  When blended into a puree, prunes offer a useful fat replacer in cooking by adding fat-like (but fat-free) characteristics that also work to enhance the flavours in both sweet and savoury dishes.

In addition, the naturally occurring sugars present in California Prunes can also be used to provide a natural replacement for some of the processed sugars that traditionally feature in sweet recipes.  And because of their high fibre content and ability to add bulk to dishes, California Prunes also have a role to play in reducing portion size without compromising on filling power or taste.

Makes: 6Prep Time: 20 minutesCook Time: 90 minutes
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INGREDIENTS

  •  
  • For the Chicken:
  • 1 2 -3lb chicken
  • bunch of fresh thyme
  • zest of one lemon
  • Salt & pepper - to taste
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 red onions, cut into quarters
  • For the stuffing:
  • 3 apples
  • 70g California Prunes
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 3-4 tbsp California Prune Juice
  • 6 sage leaves
  • 60g crushed pistachios (NOT ground)
  • 1 handful parsley
  • 1/2 nutmeg
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  •  

DIRECTIONS

  1. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and place in a roasting tray.
  2. Drizzle the bird with olive oil, lemon zest and a pinch of salt and pepper.
  3. Roughly chop the thyme and sprinkle over the chicken.
  4. To make the stuffing peel, core and roughly chop the apples and place into a mixing bowl. Chop the California Prunes in half and add to the apples along with the prune juice and nuts.
  5. Chop the parsley and add to the stuffing mix.
  6. Finely chop the garlic and add to the stuffing mix.
  7. Season with freshly ground nutmeg, salt and pepper before stirring together. Spoon the stuffing inside the chicken.  If you have any excess filling scatter it around the chicken in the roasting tray.
  8. Add a pint of water around the chicken as well as the red onions, before roasting in a pre-heated oven 180oc for 1 1/2 – 2 hours until fully cooked.
  9. When the chicken is cooked remove from the oven and wrap it in tin foil, allow the bird to rest for 20 minutes before serving. That way it gives you enough time to pour off the juices and make a gravy.

AUTHOR

Peter Sidwell

Peter Sidwell

California Prune Board Ambassador Peter Sidwell, is a chef, baker, TV presenter, author, and innovator of all things food related. Peter has been a chef all his working life and over the years has developed a simple, fresh and innovative way of cooking which focuses on the importance of fine ingredients and technical know-how to ensure the best results. Peter has travelled the world cooking, talking and demonstrating his approach and explaining how and why it works so well for all manner of food offerings. Peter works both with chefs, consumers, food producers and retailers to innovate, create process or refine procurement. Working from his new innovation centre in England's beautiful Lake District, Peter and his team create exciting, attractive and mouth-watering new recipes with digital content, showcasing the delicious flavour and versatility of California Prunes.