FESTIVE SEASON 2013-2014: Greek-style Festive stuffed roast chicken

For those who don't like turkey too much (or at all) there is always an alternative and this could be a nice roast chicken for the big day of Christmas! Why don't you try it in one of the ways it is cooked in Greece this year, stuffing the bird with a rich filling full of taste and aromas? If you prefer you can substitute the mushrooms with 200gr. of pickled cabbage cut in thin strips and in that case omit the cinnamon

Adapted from a recipe of Vicky Smyrli
"Cook Book" magazine of "ETHNOS" newspaper

Ingredients (for 4-6 people)

For the chicken:
1 chicken (about 2 Kg)
3 tbsp of olive oil
½ a lemon
salt
pepper

For the stuffing:
3 tbsp of olive oil
1 yellow onion, grated
4 large country-style sausages
200gr. of small mushrooms, finely chopped
½ tea-cup of apple juice
1 cooking apple, peeled and grated
12 chestnuts, cut in half (boiled and peeled)
1 pinch of ground cinnamon
50gr. of roasted pine nuts
2 tbsp of black raisins
1 tea-cup of white dry wine
salt
pepper

Method:
Wash the chicken well inside and outside. Rub the inside of the cavity with the lemon and generously season with salt and pepper.

Peel the sausages of their membrane, cut into chunks and chop in an electric food chopper until you end up with a coarsely ground mixture.

In a large non-stick frying pan warm the oil in medium-high heat and sauté the onion until it becomes translucent. Add the chopped sausages and the mushrooms and sauté for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently with a wooden spatula.

Pour over with the apple juice and add in the pan the grated apple, the chestnuts, the pine nuts and the raisins. Sprinkle with the cinnamon, season with salt and pepper and stir. Turn the heat down to low, cover with a lid and simmer until most of the liquids are evaporated but without letting the filling dry out. Take off the heat and leave aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

When the filling is cooled, stuff the chicken with it and seal the cavity with a fruit (an apple or a mandarin). *** Don't overfill the chicken with the stuffing. If there is any left keep it aside.

Pour the wine in an oven pan and place the chicken in the centre. Drizzle the chicken with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the (possible) remained stuffing in the one corner and cover the pan with aluminium foil.

Put in the oven and cook for about 1-1 ½ hours. Every 20 minutes baste the chicken with the juices from the pan and if needed, add some more wine in. About 10 minutes before the end of cooking discard the foil and leave the chicken to get nicely coloured.

Leave to rest for 15 minutes and then serve with the stuffing separately served in a bowl. Accompany the chicken with oven baked potatoes cut in chunks.