Native Mint Roast Chicken

PREP TIME

10 minutes

COOK TIME

60 minutes

SERVES

4-6 people

Ingredients

1.2kg free range chicken
1 cup ricotta
2 finely diced onion (1/2 an onion for spice mixture and 1 1/2 for roasting pan )
1 diced rasher of bacon
2 cloves of garlic minced
1tsp The Spice People’s Pepper Berries Whole (crushed in a mortar and pestle)
1/2tsp The Spice People’s Native River Mint
1/2tsp The Spice People’s Peppermint Gum
3 tbsp macadamia oil (or olive oil if you don’t have)
Salt and pepper to season

The love this recipe

A chicken roast with a twist! In this recipe, a herby, bacon-studded ricotta mixture is slid gently between the chicken breast and the skin keeping the meat super moist while cooking as well as permeating it with wonderful native minty flavour.

This roast is baked in a hot oven until crisp and golden on the outside and juicy on the inside, filling your house with the most wonderful smells! Serve alongside some roasted veg or salad and enjoy! Serve as a delicious family dinner then as leftovers for yummy chicken sandwiches in the days following.

Directions

Preheat your oven to 180c. Combine your ricotta, 1/2 a chopped onion, bacon, garlic, pepper berries, mint, and peppermint gum in a bowl until a herby paste is formed. Using your fingers, release the chicken skin from the breast meat. Take handfuls of the herbed ricotta mix and slide under the skin, being careful not to tear it. Any leftover mixture is then smoothed over the skin of the chicken breasts or put into the cavity
Drizzle the outside of the chicken generously with the oil.
Placed the remaining chopped onion in the base of the pan in the centre and place the chicken on top and roast in the oven for 1 hour, or until juices run clear. Some of the ricotta spice mixture will escape in the roasting pan. This combined with the onion can be used to make the most wonderful gravy. Mix all the pan juices, onions etc together and let develop flavour while carving the Roast chicken. Let the chicken rest for at least 10 minutes before carving. Serve with Roast potatoes and steamed greens.