FRUIT-STUFFED CHICKEN

SERVES 4

This is an impressive dish to make for a holiday gathering in the fall, when apples are in season. The sweet and tart flavor of the apples combined with the zesty orange will fill your house with the comforting scents of autumn.

INGREDIENTS

1 roasting chicken (approximately 3½ lbs/1½ kg)

1 large orange

sea salt and pepper

4 tbsp/60 g butter, divided

1 cup/150 g red onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 apples, unpeeled, cored and diced

1 tbsp/1 g fresh rosemary, minced, plus a few sprigs

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350°F/177°C. Remove any organs from the chicken’s cavity and reserve for another use. Rinse the bird with cold water and pat dry. Grate the zest from the orange and reserve. Cut the orange into half and rub all over the chicken. Liberally salt and pepper the entire bird.

Melt butter in a skillet. Add red onion and cook over low heat until tender. Add garlic and apples and sauté until apples are soft but not cooked through, about 10 minutes. Salt and pepper generously. Turn off the heat and combine orange zest and rosemary with the apple and onion mixture.

Stuff the chicken with the mixture. Stuff rosemary sprigs under the skin. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Place the chicken breast up in a roasting pan. Dot each breast with a tablespoon of butter. Roast for 1½ hours. Let chicken rest, and carve.