Roasts

ROAST CHICKEN STUFFED WITH SPICED PISTACHIO NUTS AND CRANBERRIES.

The garnish is the bright jewels of the dark red berries and the pink and green of the pistachio nuts against the crisp golden skin of the chicken.  This could be served on a bright blue patterned plate from Morocco or Turkey to complete the image of the sumptuous jewelled chicken that would not be out of place at a royal oriental banquet.

The combination will mean that there is a balance of flavour that stimulates all the taste buds.

Roast Chicken with Lemon and Rosemary

My childhood memories of chicken as a special treat for birthdays and Christmas involved loving the chicken and the gravy, but it took me years before I also enjoyed the stuffing. Now I love it. I think it is truly worth the time to make a lemony stuffing like the one for this roast chicken as it produces a wonderfully aromatic, moist bird. Accompany with roast vegetables and a simple leafy green salad.

Roast Chicken with Spinach, Lemon & Mint Stuffing

By stuffing the chicken under the skin, as well as in the cavity, this roast chicken is deliciously moist and the lemon, spinach and mint flavours impart a wonderful fresh spring flavour to this roast dinner. 

Serves 4-6

Roast Lamb Shoulder with Prune and Orange Stuffing

The sweetest meat is the juicy shoulder of lamb. Ask your butcher to bone it out for you, and then remove as much fat as you can. This is best done with a very sharp knife that can cut into the small seams of fat that are often found in this cut.

Roast Leg of Lamb with Anchovy Crust

On one of our recent journeys to France, we visited a friend in St Remy – Nito Carpita – and she cooked us a leg of lamb. It was late spring and the leg was tiny and tender, studded with fresh young sprigs of rosemary, and anointed with an aromatic paste made from garlic and very good tinned anchovies. It was a memorable meal, enjoyed in their Provencal guest house, Mas de Cornud, set in lovely country-style grounds. This is my version of Nito’s dish.