Bling Bling Roast Chicken by Yudhika Sujanani

 

I sometimes feel a little bleak during the festive season….it’s the end of year fatigue and tiredness, a touch of emotional sadness and well, I end up feeling a little stuffed!

 

A festive time for some and a dark time for others….around this time of year there is great excitement but there is also great sorrow.  The excitement is understandable but what about the sadness?  I was chatting to a therapist friend who told me that this is the busiest time of year!  I was chatting to a lawyer who also said that his clients ‘go mental’ during the festive season!  Tis the season to be jolly….or is it???

 

Around birthdays, christmas and any holidays…I often look back and think about all the things I missed out on as a child.  So, yes…there has been great success but the sadness strikes even while the life sparkles!  Life just wasn’t a cake walk but it’s the same for most people….we remember the people we love….the people we have lost…the worst are the people live and are missing from our lives!

 

I came across the South African Depression and Anxiety Group…their helpline is open throughout the year including Christmas Day and New Year’s Day too…for more information, take a look at the website, http://www.sadag.org and please go on and share it…they do amazing work!!!

 

I know I will be spending my Christmas with my kids and I will be feasting with them too!!!  My daughter, Tanvi, is not much of a turkey fan and loves a stuffed roast chicken…so here is one of her favourite recipes for a ‘pull out all the stops’ bling bling roast chicken!

 

On SABC 2’s Mela this Sunday, stay tuned….Christmas gets a spicy Indian twist with a delicious rice stuffed roast turkey, semolina roast potatoes and a cranberry Christmas Cake!

 

Bling Bling Roast Chicken

 

Ingredients

 

1 whole chicken, 1,2 – 1,3 kg

Pinch of salt, to season

50ml sunflower oil

250g bacon rashers (streaky or back)

 

For the rub:

75g soft butter

8 cloves garlic, crushed

10ml Curry me Home red chilli

10ml Curry me Home ground coriander

5ml Curry Me Home ground cumin

5ml Curry me Home garam masala

20ml Curry Me Home Magic Masala, optional

15ml fresh thyme leaves

30ml lemon juice

 

 

For the stuffing:

30ml breadcrumbs

125g sausage meat or chicken mince

75g finely chopped onion

1 egg yolk

30ml chopped fresh coriander

 

Here’s how:

Go easy on the salt for this recipe…the bacon that goes on top of the chicken adds salt to this recipe and so does the sausage meat in the stuffing.

 

Rinse the chicken under running water and pat dry with absorbent paper towel.

Season with salt.

Prepare the buttery rub my combining all the ingredients and creaming them until smooth.

 

Combine the stuffing ingredients  – the sausage meat should be quite salty so don’t over season the mixture.  If you are using chicken mince, season with salt and black pepper.

 

Stuff the chicken cavity with the mixture and secure the drumsticks in place with butcher’s twine.

 

Place the chicken on a greased roasting pan with the breasts facing up.  Gently lift the chicken skin and smear the butter over the breasts.  Smear some of the butter over the chicken wings and drumsticks.

 

Drizzle sunflower oil over the chicken. Layer the rashers over the chicken breasts.

 

Roast the chicken at 200 degrees celsius for ten minutes, then lower the temperature to 180 degrees.  Roast the chicken for 60 – 65 minutes or until the juices run clear when the chicken is pierced.