Never in a Month of Sundays

I had my family over for Sunday lunch yesterday which consisted of mum, dad & two very tall, very hungry brothers. It’s Winter, it’s cold, it’s dreary so what could be better than a good roast with all the trimmings???

I called to the Milk Market on Saturday morning to stock up; I decided on a stuffed chicken with roast potatoes, maple roasted parsnips & beetroot crisps, all followed by spiced apple & blackberry crumble with ice-cream (I had some blackberries stashed away in the freezer since September).  The Market was busy as always on Saturday morning, but this Saturday saw the arrival of Adare Farm Foods which is nestled in between the bean bag store & Marie’s Cheeses. They have a fantastic range of beef & pork products from their own farm as well as an ice-cream & sorbet stand which sold, among others, vodka & red bull sorbet!

Outside the shop, I noticed a bit of a bustle with a group of men & their buggies standing around waiting for something; I was intrigued. There was a lady cooking sausages & leaving them out as samples but the men weren’t interested in that. Then I spotted a large stainless steel cylindrical container with a window at the top. I peered in the window to discover a pig turning on a spit inside – brilliant! I didn’t hang around for the carving as I had to get back to O’Connor’s on Little Catherine Street to collect an organic chicken for the dinner but I’m sure it wasn’t long being scoffed. I might try it out next weekend for brekkie - watch this space… 

Stuffed Roast Chicken

with Maple Roasted Parsnips, Roast Potatoes, Beetroot Crisps & Gravy

Serves 6

What You Need

1 whole chicken – try and get organic or at least free range, it does make a difference.

About 4 handfuls of breadcrumbs

150g Butter

1 chopped onion

1 bunch of sage leaves

1kg parsnips

100ml maple syrup

150ml vegetable oil

300g fresh beetroot

1 tbsp Flour

500ml stock (I prefer beef but you can use chicken)

1kg potatoes, cut small for roasting

Sea salt & pepper

What You Do

• Melt the butter in the pan, add the onions & cook gently until translucent. Don’t let the onions go brown. Add this mixture to the breadcrumbs, chopped sage & season. You may need to add more butter depending on how wet / dry you want the mixture.
• When the stuffing is cold, stuff the chicken and add to an oven pre-heated at 180C. I had quite a large chicken so it took 1hr 45mins plus 15 mins resting time out of the oven before carving.
• Par boil the potatoes for 10 mins and when there’s an hour of cooking left, add the potatoes to the roasting tin (I sat the chicken on a grill over the roasting pan so the juices fell down on to the potatoes – be sure to drain off enough for the gravy).
• Cut the parsnips into thick sticks and add the maple syrup & oil. With 50 mins cooking time left, add the parsnips to a lower shelf in the oven.
• Slice the beetroot thinly, cook in a deep fat fryer until crisp and sprinkle with sea salt – these can be served hot or cold.
• To make the gravy, add the flour to the juices from the chicken and gradually add the stock until you have the consistency you require and there are no lumps.
• Carve the chicken, add a spoon of stuffing, some veg, gravy & serve. 

Comments

[Maeve]

Sar - I'll be trying out those beetroot crips - they sound yum.

[BrianMol]

The parsnips sound lovely as do the beetroot.....interesting stuff.

[Sarah]

Yeah, they're both quite sweet and are perfect with chicken.

[Laura]

At least I'd be able to eat the beetroot crisps, sigh...

I think I'll have to come take a look at that pig next week. Purely for educational purposes of course.

[Sarah]

Laura, this is a meal fit for a vegetarian queen if you leave out the chicken - the maple roast parsnips are delicious. I'll have something for you later in the week...

[Jen]

Argh, my comment disappeared last night. Very excited about the maple parsnips, one of my favourite vegetables.

Had the poppies and saussies with caramelsied red onion gravy last night, yummy, thnaks for the inspiration!

[Sarah]

Jen, that's great to hear, can't beat the red onion jam!!!

[Maz]

Wow, how did I miss the Pig on a spit in the Market, I'll have to wait two weeks to see it now!! That roast chicken looks delicious Sarah, i love parsnips as well and those beetroot crips look very interesting!

[lorraine@italianfoodies]

I too will have to get myself into the market to see this pig, sounds yum!! Nothing like roast chicken, I'm not a big parsnips lover but I could be converted with these. They always remind me of my mother's "bad" Irish stew:)

[Eimear]

Very impressed with this blog, great ideas, will defo be watching for more
Thanks
Eimear

[Sarah]

Girls,I'm not sure if the pig was a one off to mark the opening of the farm shop but it's a great idea. There's a huge variety of cooked foods on sale there at the moment. The next thing i'll try is the Korean sushi.

[squid]

The thread title made me think of this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XIUWo5hZTU

if that is Sunday dinner, I can't wait to see Christmas dinner.

[Sarah]

Squid, that's funny; that song ALWAYS makes me think of Sunday dinner! My mum won't let me near the kitchen on Christmas Day so you'll just have to wait for something creative with leftovers.

[Deborah]

Welcome to the Irish Food Blogosphere! ;-) Great menu... parsnips sound amazing! I've added you to the blogroll - look forward to reading more!

[Sarah]

Thanks Deborah! The parsnips are very tasty alright, be sure to try out the beetroot too, I think beetroot has a bit of a bad name so we'll try and change that. I saw Rachel Allen had it featured last night.

[Maggie]

Hey babes,
Blog looks fantastic, the market is going to be manic tomorrow with people queing to see that pig. As you know i don't cook but i ll definately be over some night to try out the treats. Engineering is definately going to be put on the shelf!!

[Maeve]

I'll be putting some of that leftover turkey to good use this Christmas - thanks x

[squid]

Squid, that's funny; that song ALWAYS makes me think of Sunday dinner! My mum won't let me near the kitchen on Christmas Day so you'll just have to wait for something creative with leftovers.

I come from a family of fifteen, the concept of leftovers is alien to me :D

[monique]

I think I'll try this one next, seeing as i'm in the land of maple syrup and all. d'Arcy makes a mean mustard chicken so it'll have to be good.

[Sarah@lettersonlunches]

Sounds like he has you spoiled with his cooking!!!