The one-tray Christmas dinner
This Christmas dinner is especially easy to prepare as it all cooks on one tray!
Ingredients
For the stuffing and chicken
- 100g/3½oz duck fat, butter or olive oil
- 1 large banana shallot, peeled and sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, sliced
- 50²µ/1¾ cashew nuts, roughly chopped
- 50²µ/1¾ chorizo or other salami-like sausage, cut into small dice
- 2–3 small pears (about 200g/7oz), peeled and diced
- 8 large sage leaves, roughly chopped
- 200g/7oz sourdough, crusts removed and cut into large cubes
- 50²µ/1¾ fresh flatleaf parsley, chopped
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 whole chicken (about 1.5kg/3lb 5oz)
For the vegetables
- 4–6 small potatoes (about 400g/14oz), such as Desiree
- 4 carrots (about 300²µ/10½´Ç³ú), peeled and cut into long wedges
- 2 parsnips (about 400g/14oz), peeled and cut into long wedges
- 300²µ/10½´Ç³ú Brussels sprouts, bases trimmed and outer leaves removed
- 1 head garlic, broken into cloves and left unpeeled
- sea salt
For the gravy
Method
To make the stuffing, heat 30g/1oz duck fat in a large frying pan and fry the shallot over a medium–low heat for about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and fry for 1 minute. Add the cashews and chorizo and fry for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the pears and sage and fry for 2 minutes. Finally, add the bread cubes and parsley. Mix well and pour in 250ml/9fl oz boiling water. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper, mix and then remove from the heat. Cover and set aside for 20 minutes.
Once the stuffing is cold and you can handle it easily, fill the cavity of the chicken with as much of the mixture as possible, pressing it in to condense. Roll the remaining stuffing into 4–6 balls and chill in the fridge.
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Place the chicken breast-side up on the largest roasting tray you have and rub the bird all over with 30g/1oz duck fat. Season well with salt and pepper.
To make the vegetables, use a sharp knife cut narrow slices into the potatoes, but not all the way down to the base. Make the slices a little narrower than a pound coin and add them to the tray. Place a dollop of the remaining duck fat on each potato and some sea salt. Roast in the oven with the chicken for 15 minutes.
Carefully remove the tray from the oven and place the carrots in one section, the parsnips in another and add any fat you may have left over (don’t worry if you’ve used it all up – there will be some in the tray). Put the tray back in the oven for another 15 minutes. Carefully remove the tray again, mix the vegetables in each corner and baste with any fat that has formed in the tray. Finally, add the Brussels sprouts and reserved stuffing balls and scatter over the garlic cloves. Sprinkle with sea salt and return to the oven for another 15 minutes.
Reduce the heat to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4, rotate the tray in the oven so the bird cooks evenly and roast for the last 10 minutes. Check the bird is cooked – the best way is to insert a small knife into the thick part of the breast and the thigh and check the juices run clear with no traces of pink. Turn the oven off, open the door and rest the chicken for 10 minutes before carving.
To make the gravy, make a stock by boiling the giblets, neck, wing tips, carrot, onion, celery, thyme, bay leaf, parsley and water in a large saucepan. Bring to the boil, them simmer for 30–40 minutes. Mix the cornflour with 1–2 tablespoon water in a small bowl. Strain the stock and stir in the cornflour mixture to thicken to a gravy.
Serve the carved chicken with the stuffing, vegetables and gravy.
