Sausage and pesto stuffed chicken with roast tomatoes and courgettes

Serves: 6
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Oven temperature: 200°C

• 1 large whole chicken
• 2 pork bangers
• 350ml fresh white breadcrumbs
• half an onion, finely chopped
• 30ml basil or rocket pesto
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 5ml grated lemon zest
• 125ml prepared chicken stock
• 50ml dry white wine, or extra stock
• 1 red onion, cut into wedges
• 1 pack of medium-sized courgettes, cut in half lengthways
• 4-6 firm ripe tomatoes, quartered
• couscous or pasta rice, to serve

1 Squeeze the sausage meat out of the casings and into a bowl. Add the breadcrumbs, onion, pesto, egg, lemon zest and 25ml of the chicken stock. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

2 If the mixture is too dry, add a little more stock. Spoon the stuffing into the chicken cavity. Secure closed using toothpicks. Tuck the wings under the chicken and tie the legs together using string. Put the chicken onto a rack that has been placed into a roasting tin. Brush the chicken with sunflower oil and sprinkle with coarse salt. Pour the remaining stock and wine into the roasting tin and roast in the oven for 30 minutes.

3 Remove the roasting tin from the oven. Baste the chicken with the cooking liquid and add the onion, courgettes and tomatoes to the tin. Return to the oven and roast for a further 45 minutes. Remove the roasting tin from the oven and set aside for 15 minutes before carving. Serve with couscous or pasta rice.

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