As promised, today on the blog we share a recipe contributed by our inspirational March Guest of the Month, Lola Berry. This scrumptious Roast Chicken is a recipe from Lola’s beautiful new cook book, The 20/20 Diet Cookbook. As the weather cools here in the South, there’s no better time to be sharing a tummy and kitchen warming roast chook. Who doesn’t love a roast for goodness sake? Thank you Lola for sharing the love with us today, I’m so looking forward to a long roast lunch.
Serves 6.
You will need:
1 x 1.5kg chicken
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup pistachios, chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries
6 thyme sprigs
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 brown onion
1 pear, cored, finely diced
1 lemon, quartered
1 red onion, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt
Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C. Place the quinoa in a saucepan with 2 cups of water, cover and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes until quinoa is cooked (it triples in size and sprouts little ‘tails’).
Heat 2 tablespoons of the coconut oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Sauté the onion for 2 minutes or until translucent. Add the pear and cook until it begins to soften (about 4-6 minutes). Remove from the heat.
In a large bowl place the pistachios, cranberries and cooked quinoa. Fold through the onion and pear combo and mix well. Spoon the mixture into the chicken cavity, pressing firming. Finally, pop the four lemon quarters and thyme sprigs in.
Place the carrots, celery and red onion in the baking dish (this will become the ‘trivet’, which elevates the chicken so it cooks evenly). Pop the stuffed chicken on top. Rub the remaining 2 tablespoons of coconut oil into the chicken skin and give it a generous seasoning with salt and pepper (this will help it become crispy). Reduce the oven temperature to 200 degrees C and roast for 1-1&1/4 hours or until the skin is golden and the juices run clear when you pierce the thigh with a knife point. (If the juices are pink, roast for another 10 minutes).
Remove the chicken from the oven and allow it to rest for 10 minutes before carving. Serve with the trivet vegetables (or a side of your choosing) and some stuffing, and I promise you everyone will be coming back for seconds!
Follow Lola on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and find her 20/20 Diet Cookbook at your local bookstore.
Source: theholisticingredient.com
