Roast chicken with a chorizo and liver stuffing

Serves 6–8
2.25–2.75kg chicken with giblets
2 cloves of garlic
2 sprigs of thyme

For the stuffing
1 large onion
1 clove of garlic
350g (12oz) King Edward or Desiree red potatoes
4 sticks of celery
10 sage leaves
150g (5oz) chorizo sausage
1 teaspoon paprika
Chicken livers from the giblets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Oil

For the giblet stock
Chicken giblets
1 carrot
1 onion
1 stick of celery
6 whole black peppercorns
A few parsley stalks (optional)

Instructions

If you have time before roasting the chicken, make a giblet stock for the gravy by roughly chopping the giblet stock vegetables and putting them into a saucepan.

Add the giblets, but reserve and put the liver to one side.

Cover giblets and vegetables with cold water, bring to the boil and simmer gently for two hours.

After that, strain the stock and use for the gravy at a later stage. For roasting the chicken, preheat the oven to 200C (400F, Gas mark 6).

Season the bird well. Crush the garlic and tuck inside the cavity together with the thyme.

Put into the oven breast-downwards to roast and after 50 minutes’ cooking carefully turn the chicken the right way up to finish off and brown the breast skin.

To calculate the cooking time, allow 20 minutes to every 450g and sometimes 20 minutes over, because ovens vary.

Meanwhile for the stuffing, which can be cooked separately and not stuffed in the chicken, boil the potatoes and drain.

Chop the onion, celery and garlic. Cut the sage leaves into thin strips and chop the chorizo into small dice.

Clean the chicken livers, removing any sinew or green patches and cut into pieces.

Fry the onion, celery and garlic in a little oil until they begin to colour, season and then put in the liver and continue cooking.

When the liver is cooked, put onto a plate. Cut the potato into cubes, wipe the pan out, add more oil and fry the potato to a golden brown.

Now put the other cooked ingredients back into the pan and add the spices, the sausage and sage. Taste for seasoning and put in an ovenproof dish and cook for about 15 minutes.