Serves 4-6
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: about 1 hour
Oven temperature: 180°C

• 1 large whole chicken
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 lemons, quartered and seeds removed

Stuffing

• 2 leeks, thinly sliced
• 350g ricotta cheese
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 spring onions, finely chopped
• handful basil, chopped
• handful parsley, chopped
• 5ml ground coriander
• grated zest of 4 limes or 2 lemons
• 15ml lime or lemon juice
• 8 green olives, pitted and chopped

Glaze

• 100ml fig jam
• 30ml lemon juice

1 Mix the stuffing ingredients together. Gently lift up the skin on the breast side of the chicken and spread some of the stuffing under the skin.

2 Mix the egg into the remaining filling and stuff into the cavity. Put one lemon quarter into the chicken cavity and put the chicken into a roasting dish. Tie the legs together with string. Place the remaining lemon quarters into the roasting dish.

3 Mix the jam and lemon juice together and brush over the chicken. Roast in a preheated oven for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush with the glaze again.

4 Roast for a further 25-35 minutes until cooked through. Serve the carved chicken with some of the stuffing.

Words and image: Ideas magazine