The chicken breast meat is incredibly tender; stuffed with sausage and wrapped in smoked streaky bacon, it is infused with flavours and self bastes as it cooks. Serves from 1 upwards!
Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.
Preheat the oven to Fan Oven 180°C/200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6.
Start by preparing the roast potatoes: peel the potatoes and cut into similarly sized even pieces. (Around 5-7cm cubes)
Place in a saucepan, with some salt and cover with cold water. Bring to a simmer over a hot heat and when boiling, turn the heat down and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes drain immediately. NB – Keep this cooking water for use in the gravy later. Leave the potatoes in the sieve or colander for a few minutes so water on the surface of the potatoes evaporates.
Prepare the chicken whilst the potatoes are cooking: peel and slice the onion, around ¾cm thick.
Drizzle some olive oil in a pan – you need a pan or roasting/baking tray which can be used in the oven and on the hob.
Tip in the onions, drizzle with a little more oil and season with salt and pepper
Toss, either with a spoon or using your hands, to make sure all the onion is covered in the oil.
Lay the chicken on a chopping board and cover with cling film.
Use a meat mallet, rolling pin or even the base of a pan to pound the meat until it is even thickness and thinner.
Remove the skin from the sausages by slicing through the skin of the sausage and then removing it. (See here if you’d like to see how it is done.)
Season the chicken breast with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Place the sausages in the centre of the breast and roll the chicken around the sausage.
Lay 3 slices of bacon next to each other and place the chicken in the centre, join side down
Wrap the bacon around the chicken, quite tightly.
Place the chicken, bacon join side down, on top of the sliced onion.
Back to the potatoes: make sure the inside of the saucepan is dry and return the potatoes to the pan. Cover with a lid and, holding the lid down tightly, shake the pan.
Add the oil to the potatoes and stir well ensuring all the potatoes are evenly coated.
Tip the potatoes onto the tray, making sure they are well spread out.
Your potatoes are now ready to go in the oven.
Start cooking: put the chicken onto the top shelf in a pre-heated oven
Put the potatoes on the shelf below.
Put the timer on for 25 minutes.
Prepare the carrots (and/or parsnips) and your chosen green vegetables: peel the carrot and cut into thick batons. Tip into the saucepan you cooked the potatoes in (there is no need to wash it) and drizzle in some oil and salt and pepper. Stir to mix well and ensure the carrots are covered in oil. NB You could add parsnips or replace some carrots with parsnips – prepare and cook in the same way. (See here for more information on cooking carrots and parsnips.)
Also prepare your chosen green vegetables – I chose Brussels sprouts, which I shredded and put in a frying pan with a knob of butter and some salt and pepper ready to cook.
After the potatoes have been cooking for 25 minutes, remove them from the oven, turn them over and add the carrots and/or parsnips to the tray. Put back in the oven, below the chicken, for a further 25 minutes.
Finish your Roast Dinner and cook the green vegetables.
NB Cook your green vegetables when you are making the gravy. When you put them on the heat, will depend on which vegetable you have chosen. The gravy will take you around 10 minutes. I fried my sprouts over a medium heat whilst I made the gravy and these also took around 10 minutes.
When your timer goes off, the chicken will have been cooking for 50 minutes. Remove from the oven but leave the potatoes and carrots in the oven
Transfer the chicken to a warmed plate and cover will foil. Leave to rest whilst you make the gravy.
Make the gravy by adding the flour and seasoning to all the onion and delicious pan juices and sticky bits.
Stir to mix well incorporating all the sticky bits which are full of flavour.
Cook over a medium heat, stirring for a minute, and then add the potato water.
Bring to the boil, stirring and cook for around 5 minutes.
Strain into a saucepan and put back on the heat. Bring back to the boil and if it is a little thin, boil rapidly to reduce to your preferred consistency.
You can serve the chicken in one piece or you can slice it before you serve it.
Serve the chicken with the potatoes, carrots, green vegetables and gravy. This would be delicious with cranberry sauce and bread sauce if you have any.
Equipment: