My adapted recipe below. If making again, I would at least double the chickpea stuffing, since you saw how little stuffing was made with the quantities listed below. Refer to the link for the original recipe which also adds directions for potatoes and salad to go with.
Roast Chicken with Chickpea Stuffing
Recipe from ScribblesNZ-the blog
Ingredients:
Chickpea Stuffing:
1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, rinsed
1 jalapeno pepper
1 lemon, zested
3 thyme sprigs, leaves only
Olive oil
Chicken, Roast Onion & Thyme
I large chicken
Bunch fresh tarragon
150 gms butter, room temperature
2 heads garlic
50gms butter
1 med onion,sliced into 6-8 segments
3 bay leaves
6 sprigs bushy thyme
300 ml chicken stock
Dressing:
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 tbsp runny honey
4-6 tbsp olive oil
A little salt and pepper
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. While oven is preheating, make the stuffing by putting the chickpeas in a bowl. Add the lemon zest, pepper, a dash of olive oil. When you stuff the chicken put the whole, zested lemon at the entrance of the chicken.
Prepare/cooking the chicken
Mix butter with chopped tarragon and some salt and pepper and loosen the chicken skin, putting your fingers underneath and pushing in the tarragon butter. Work it over the crown of the chicken and under the drumstick and thighs without tearing the skin. If you can’t get it under the skin of the legs don’t worry.
Spoon the stuffing into the bird and seal the entrance with the lemon. Rub a little olive oil or butter over the chicken skin and season.
Put 50gms butter in a roasting tray and melt for 2 mins. Remove from oven and add onion segments, bay leaves, thyme sprigs and the cut halves of garlic face down. Arrange onions and herbs around the garlic. Place the chicken on top of the mixture and roast for 20 mins. Turn the oven down to 400 degrees F. and cook for about 1 1/4 hours, removing when the chicken is tender and the juices run clear. Set chicken aside to rest and remove the garlic.
Remove the chickpeas from the chicken and put in a large, warm bowl. Squeeze the garlic through a sieve into the chickpea mixture, and mash the entire contents with a potato masher. Add 1 tbsp of the salad dressing, mix and serve.
