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Clodagh McKenna’s tarragon and mustard chicken with potato stuffing

By: Clodagh McKenna

Irish chef, Clodagh McKenna, uses a potato stuffing – flavoured with celery, garlic and thyme – in this succulent roast chicken recipe.

In need of something speedier? Try this lemon and garlic chicken thigh recipe served with couscous and fresh herbs.

Irish chef, Clodagh McKenna, uses a potato stuffing – flavoured with celery, garlic and thyme – in this succulent roast chicken recipe.

In need of something speedier? Try this lemon and garlic chicken thigh recipe served with couscous and fresh herbs.

Ingredients

For the potato stuffing

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Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/ gas 6. Put the 100g softened butter in a bowl, then stir in the mustard and chopped tarragon. Season with salt and pepper, then mix well. Rub three quarters of the tarragon and mustard butter all over the chicken and under the skin over the breast meat (loosen the skin by pushingyour fingers under by the neck cavity).
Melt the remaining tarragon and mustard butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Put the baby turnips in a bowl and pour the melted butter on top. Toss to coat.
To make the potato stuffing, melt the 30g butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Stir in the onions, celery and garlic, then cover and fry for 2 minutes. Remove the lid and stir in the potatoes, thyme and breadcrumbs. Season with salt and pepper, then cook for 5 minutes, stirring often so it doesn’t burn. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before stuffing the chicken.

Stuff the chicken cavity with the potato stuffing (see tip) until two thirds full. This will allow hot air to circulate inside the cavity so the chicken will cook properly. Put the remaining stuffing in an ovenproof dish and bake alongside the chicken.
Put the buttered turnips in a roasting tin with the sprigs of tarragon and sit the chicken on top. Roast for 1 hour 20 minutes, basting regularly with the buttery juices, or until cooked (a digital probe thermometer pushed into the thickest part of the meat should read 65°C). Take the dish of stuffing out after an hour and keep warm.
When the chicken is cooked, transfer to a lipped board and cover with foil. Rest for 15 minutes before carving. Serve with the baby turnips, stuffing and seasonal veg.

Nutrition: per serving

If you’re not keen on stuffing the cavity, put all the stuffing in an ovenproof dish and bake alongside the chicken, covering with foil if it browns too much.

Clodagh says: “When you’re marinating the chicken, it’s important to rub the flavoured butter under the skin of the chicken before roasting it, as the flavors will penetrate right into the meat.”