Thanksgiving gave me just the right excuse to make this tender Roasted Chicken Stuffed with Prunes and Apples. Truly easy and delicious.

I confess that I’ve been influenced by the Thanksgiving’s online vibes, and an old memory from the short time I was living in New York.

Back in 2012 I spent a few months in NYC and my roommates and I decided to host a Thanksgiving Dinner with a few friends. One of our Italian friends happened to be a chef so he was obviously in charge of the turkey and I was his sues-chef. It was my friend’s first time making a stuffed turkey, but listen guys he made the best turkey I ever had.

Now, I wish I could remember the recipe because I really fell like making something similar for Thanksgiving, but nothing. I only remember we added bread and raisins to the filling and that’s it. The rest is a total black out. So I’m going to make something a bit different, but still juicy and delicious: Roasted Chicken Stuffed with Prunes and Apples.

Roasted Chicken Stuffed with Prunes and Apples

Recipe by GiadaCourse: MainCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Medium

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

hours

minutes

Delicious and Extra Tender, this Roasted Chicken Stuffed with Prunes and Apples is the Perfect Comfort Food for any Occasion.

Ingredients

A whole chicken, about 1.8-2 kg, already cleaned and ready to be cooked.
For the Stuffing
150g Stale bread
100g Speck (or smoked bacon)
50g Grated Parmesan
1 Egg
Parsley to taste
About 70g Dry Prunes (diced)
1 Apple about 50g (pilled and diced, I chose a red type)
1 clove of garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste
For the Herbs Mix
1 Bay Leaf
1 clove of garlic
1-2 Fresh Rosemary sprigs
1-2 Fresh Thyme sprigs
4 Sage leaves
Fresh ground Black Pepper
Salt
30g Butter
For the Sauce
1 Carrot (diced)
2 Onions (diced)
1-2 Fresh Rosemary sprigs
2 Celery Ribs (diced)
2 leaves of Sage
Salt and fresh ground Pepper
1 Cup White Wine

Directions

Start with the herbs. Finely chop all herbs and the garlic (you can use a blender) and then add salt, pepper and butter. Mix it well until well combined. Set aside.
Prepare the stuffing. Cut the bread and soak it in a bowl with water. When softened squeeze it well with your hands. In a large bowl, crumble the bread and add grated Parmesan, chopped dry prunes, apple, egg, chopped parsley, salt and ground black pepper. Mix it well with your hands until all the ingredients are well combined.
Prepare the Chicken. Rub the chicken’s skin with the butter herbs mixture and don’t forget to spread a generous spoon to the inside of the chicken (where you will soon add the stuffing). Stuff the chicken with the bread and fruits mixture, pressing all the way down to fill the whole cavity. I recommend you will truss the chicken, tiding its legs. In this way the stuffing will not get out!
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Prepare the veggies for the gravy. Chop all veggies and arrange them in a baking dish, then season them with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and the herbs.
Cook the chicken. Place the stuffed chicken over the vegetables and season both chicken and vegetables with white wine. Cover with aluminum foil and put in the oven . Cook for 20 minutes (200°C) and then remove the aluminum foil and reduce the temperature to 150°C/160°C – keep cooking for about 2 more hours. I switched to grill for the last 10 minutes to make the skin a bit crunchy. If you have food thermometer this is the time to use it. The inside temperature should be around 72°C when the chicken is ready.
Make the sauce. Once the chicken will be ready, collect all the vegetables and the sauce in a blender and blend it until you get to a smooth sauce. Taste the sauce and check if you need to add salt or pepper.
Serve. Serve the stuffed chicken with its sauce and your favorite side dish.