- 1 medium chicken, 1.5kg
- 4 tablespoon olive oil
- Dried oregano
- Salt and black pepper
- 3 large sweet potatoes
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- For the stuffing:
- 1 X 400g tin cooked chickpea, drained and rinsed
- 1 onion, peeled and diced
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
First prepare the stuffing by mashing the chickpeas, or, if you have a food processor, blitz for 30 seconds until still chunky. Combine with the diced onion, lemon juice and zest. Stuff inside the chicken cavity then seal with the juiced lemon. Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. Rub the chicken with two tablespoons of olive oil, sprinkle over the oregano and season with salt and pepper. Place in a roasting tin on the middle shelf, roast for 30 minutes then lower the heat to 180°C/gas mark 4 and continue to roast for one hour, basting occasionally with the juices.
While the chicken is roasting, prepare the sweet potato fries. Do not peel the potatoes, simply slice lengthways into chunky fries. Season with paprika and drizzle with two tablespoons of oil. Place in the oven on the top shelf, 30 minutes before the chicken is fully cooked. Test the chicken by inserting a skewer into the leg, if the juices run clear, remove the chicken then leave to rest, covered in foil, for ten minutes. Continue to cook the sweet potato until tender, 40 minutes in total.
Spoon out the stuffing into a serving bowl, carve the chicken and serve with the sweet potatoes.
