One of Mum’s signature dishes: Zakynthian style roast chicken and lemon potatoes. A perfect Sunday lunch with a fresh, crunchy politiki or marouli salad alongside. While it involves a bit of preparation work in the kitchen, this chicken is a pure, comforting joy to eat – and at Christmas time, this recipe is fully adaptable to a Turkey, a surprisingly popular and traditional Ionian Christmas dish.
Kotopoulo sto fornou
Zakynthian style roast chicken
Ingredients
- 1 Good quality free range chicken (about 1&1/2 kg)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Fresh lemons juiced
- Sofia's chilli puree see basic recipes
- Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
- For the filling:
- 1/2 kg Veal finely chopped
- 1 kg Chicken kidneys
- 1/2 cup White wine
- 2 Onions finely chopped
- 5 cloves Garlic chopped
- 1/2 cup Pinenuts
- 125 g Ladotiri or pecorino cheese cut into small cubes
- 3 tbs 'Kitrino' or 'Uncle Ben's' calrose rice
- 3 Fresh tomatoes grated
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 190C.
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Thoroughly clean the chicken kidneys and cut into small pieces (you should end up with about 1/2 kg). Set aside.
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Place a frypan on medium heat, add a little EVOO and saute the onion and garlic until fragrant. Add the chicken kidneys and veal. Add the wine and simmer for a little while (don't let the meat cook to long as it will continue to cook in the chicken). Next add the chilli water, grated tomato, rice and pinenuts to the pan. Cook until the rice absorbs most of the liquid, but is not fully cooked. Remove from the heat. Add the pecorino and mix well. Season. Allow to cool.
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Wash and dry the chicken. Sprinkle with salt and pepper inside and out. Then stuff the chicken with the filling and close the chicken cavity with toothpicks. Place in a roasting pan, surrounded by potatoes that have been parboiled for 10 mins. Rub the chicken all over with lemon juice a little chilli water and EVOO. Roast in the preheated oven for about 1 & 1/2 hours or until cooked through and golden brown. Baste regularly while cooking
