Roast chicken with sausage, chard and parmesan stuffing

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6. Season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper, then tie it into a neat shape with cook’s string. Scatter the unpeeled garlic cloves and rosemary sprigs in a lightly oiled roasting tin, then place the chicken on top. Roast for 1 hour.
2. While the chicken is in the oven, prepare the stuffing. Cut the bread into 2cm thick slices, then put them in a large bowl with the milk and stir gently. Soak for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Heat the oil in a frying pan. Fry the sausagemeat briskly until lightly browned, then put on a plate, leaving the fat in the pan. Fry the garlic, onion and celery for 5-8 minutes until soft and lightly browned. Add the chard stalks, then cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and add the chard leaves. Leave to wilt down, then add 4 tbsp water, cover and cook gently for 5 minutes.
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4. Break the milk-soaked bread into small, chunky pieces using your hands. Add the sausagemeat, the onion and chard mixture, the fresh herbs, 40g of the grated parmesan, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix together well, then spoon into a large, shallow, buttered baking dish (about 2 litres capacity) and sprinkle over the remaining cheese.
5. When the chicken has been roasting for 1 hour, put the stuffing dish alongside it or on the shelf below and cook for 25-30 minutes. Once cooked, the stuffing should be crisp and golden, and the chicken juices should run clear when you pierce the thickest part of the leg (a digital probe thermometer pushed into the breast should read 65-70°C).
6. Lift the roast chicken onto a board, wrap it closely with foil and leave to rest for 10 minutes. Loosely cover the stuffing with foil.
7. Meanwhile, make the gravy. Pour away all but 1-2 tsp fat from the roasting tin (discard the rosemary but leave the garlic cloves in the tin). Stir in the flour, then gradually stir in the stock, crushing the garlic cloves as you go to release the flavour. Simmer on the hob for a few minutes until reduced and well flavoured, then strain the gravy into a saucepan and keep hot.
8. To carve the chicken, remove the string, slice off the legs and cut in half at the joint. Cut each breast away from the carcass in one whole piece, then carve each lengthways into long thin slices. Serve with the stuffing, gravy and veg.