Lemon roast chicken with chorizo stuffing

• 4 onions, 2 unpeeled and thickly sliced, 2 finely chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing
• 3 tsp sweet smoked paprika
• 4 lemon thyme sprigs
• 1½ kg whole chicken
• 2 lemons, zested and then halved
• 100g chorizo, diced
• 120g cooking chorizo, meat squeezed from the skins
• 175g fresh white breadcrumbs
• 100g soft dried apricots, chopped
• 4 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 250ml glass white wine
• 400ml chicken stock
• sauteed potatoes and steamed broccoli, to serve (optional)

Method:

1. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Lay the sliced onions in the middle of a roasting tin. Mix the oil with 2 tsp paprika and leaves from one of the thyme sprigs. Rub all over the chicken, sit it on top of the onions and season well. Push 3 of the lemon halves inside the cavity, cover the chicken loosely with foil and roast for 45 mins.
2. Meanwhile, make the stuffing. Cook the diced chorizo over a low-medium heat until crisp and plenty of oil has collected in the pan. Scoop out the chorizo to cool, and tip the chopped onions into the pan. Soften gently for 15-20 mins, then tip into a bowl to cool.
3. Rub together the cooking chorizo meat and the breadcrumbs, as if you were rubbing butter into flour to make pastry. When the breadcrumbs are all orange, mix in the cooked chorizo and onions, apricots, parsley, leaves from another thyme sprig, remaining paprika, the lemon zest and egg. Squeeze over the juice from the remaining lemon half, season with lots of pepper, then use your hands to squish everything together really well.
4. Grease a small roasting tin and push in the stuffing, roughing up the surface with a fork – this will create lots of crispy bits. Tear over the remaining thyme sprigs.
5. After 45 mins, remove the foil from the chicken and pour the wine and stock into the tin. Reduce oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4 and put the chicken back in with the stuffing on a shelf below. Roast for another 45 mins until the juices between the legs and body run clear.

6. Rest the chicken for 15 mins while you bubble the pan juices to reduce a little, then carve and serve with the stuffing, reduced juices, and sautéed potatoes and steamed broccoli, if you like.

Recipe courtesy of www.bbcgoodfood.com

Lemon & sage stuffed loin of pork

• 2kg boned pork loin, reserving the bones for roasting (optional)
• zest 2 lemon
• small pack sage, leaves roughly chopped
• small pack parsley, leaves roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp malt vinegar

Method:

1. Heat oven to 240C/220C fan/gas 9. With a sharp knife, score the skin of the pork in a criss-cross pattern (or ask your butcher to do this). Turn it around so that the flesh side is facing upwards, then cut a slit along the side of the loin, without cutting all the way through, to open it out like a book. Cover the flesh with the lemon zest, sage and parsley, then scatter over the garlic. Season generously and drizzle over 1 tsp olive oil. Roll up the loin and secure tightly with string in 3-4cm intervals. Rub the scored skin with the malt vinegar (which helps it to crackle), then with a large pinch of salt and the remaining oil. Place the pork on the bones (if you have them) on a baking tray and roast for 15-20 mins until the skin is golden and starting to crackle.

2. After 15 mins, reduce the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and roast for about 1 hr until the pork is tender and very slightly pink in the middle. Rest in a warm place for 10-15 mins before carving. Serve with the apples and some watercress, if you like.

Recipe courtesy of www.bbcgoodfood.com

Roast leg of lamb with basil & mint pesto

• 2kg lamb leg, skin scored (see tip)
• fresh garden herbs, to serve (optional)
• sliced lemon, to serve (optional)

For the pesto

• 1 small garlic clove, roughly chopped
• small pack basil, leaves only
• small pack mint, leaves only
• 25g pine nuts
• 25g grated parmesan
• 125ml extra virgin olive oil
• juice ½ lemon

Method:

1. First, make the pesto. Put all the ingredients (except the olive oil and lemon juice) and a pinch of salt into the small bowl of a food processor. Pulse until very finely chopped. While the processor is on, drizzle the olive oil in to make a paste. Tip the pesto into a small bowl and stir in the lemon juice.
2. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Put the scored lamb leg in a large roasting tin and use half the pesto to generously coat the skin and flesh, pressing it between all the cracks for extra juiciness. Put the rest of the pesto in the fridge, covered with cling film, and remove just before serving.
3. Roast the lamb for 1 hr 45 mins. Check during cooking that it’s not drying out – if the base of the roasting tin starts to look dry, spread a little more pesto over the top of the lamb.
4. Remove the lamb from the tin, cover with foil and leave to rest for 30-40 mins before serving on lemon slices and fresh garden herbs, if you like. Carve at the table and serve with the remaining pesto to drizzle over.

Recipe courtesy of www.bbcgoodfood.com