The Empress of India’s roast chicken with bread sauce and stuffing
- Preparation and cooking time
- Total time
- Easy
- serves 2
Skip to ingredients
- 1 free-range chickenabout 1.4 kg (The Empress uses Devonshire Bronze)
- softened butter
- a squeeze of juice lemon
sage and chestnut stuffing
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- leaves picked and chopped to make 1 tsp thyme
- chopped to make 1 tsp sage
- 50g butter
- 100g cooked peeled chestnutschopped
- fresh chicken stockcube or concentrate made up to 75ml
- a couple of handfuls fresh breadcrumbs
bread sauce
- 300ml milk
- 1 sprig thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 white peppercorns
- 6 cloves
- ¼ onion
- ½ carrot
- freshly grated nutmega pinch
- 100g fresh breadcrumbs
- a dash double cream
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal0
- fat0g
- saturates0g
- carbs0g
- sugars0g
- fibre0g
- protein0g
- salt0g
Method
step 1
To make the stuffing, gently cook the onion, thyme and sage in the butter until soft but not coloured. Add the chestnuts and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Add enough breadcrumbs for the mixture to bind together and become thick. Cool and set in the fridge for 30 minutes.
step 2
Heat the oven to 200c/fan 180c/gas 6. Stuff the chicken under the skin at the neck, using string or cocktail sticks to keep it in place. Rub soft butter all over and give it a squeeze of lemon juice. Put on a rack over a roasting tray containing a little water and cook for 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 180c/fan 160c/gas 4 and cook for a further 40 minutes or until the juices run clear when the thigh is pierced with a skewer. Rest the chicken under foil for 20 minutes.
step 3
To make the bread sauce, put the milk in a pan with all the ingredients except the breadcrumbs and cream. Leave on a low heat to infuse for 20 minutes, then sieve. About 5 minutes before you serve the chicken, bring the milk to a simmer and whisk in the fresh breadcrumbs until the sauce thickens, then add a dash of cream to give a smooth texture.
step 4
Serve the chicken, stuffing and sauce with your favourite vegetables. The Empress serves this with braised red cabbage, cauliflower cheese, roast potatoes and pigs in blankets.
