Djaj Mahshi – Whole stuffed chicken

Ingredients

Rice & chicken stuffing

• 2 Organic Larder chickens
• 450 g Organic Larder ground lamb or beef
• 1 cup Organic Larder rice, soaked overnight, rinsed & drained
• 1¾ cups chicken stock or water
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 tbsp Organic Larder olive oil
• 1 tsp Organic Larder butter
• 1 tsp Allspice or a mix of paprika, cumin, onion, garlic powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• ½ cup pine nuts
• Salt & pepper to taste

Chicken rub

• 1 tbsp Organic Larder lemon juice
• 2 tbsp Organic Larder yogurt
• 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• 1 tsp Middle Eastern chicken seasoning, or Allspice 2 tbsp butter
• Salt & pepper to taste

Method

• 1. Sauté the diced onions in olive oil until translucent. Add the rice and sauté for a couple of minutes. Add the chicken broth or water, salt & pepper, 1 tsp allspice & a little freshly grated nutmeg. Bring to a boil and then simmer until becoming tender, but not mushy. It should take 15 minutes.
• 2. Brown the meat, breaking it up into small pieces with your spatula. Season with salt, pepper, 1/2 tsp Allspice & a little bit of cinnamon.
• 3. Sauté the pine nuts in a tablespoon of butter, over low heat, stirring carefully and watching. They burn very easily.
• 4. In a bowl, combine the rice, meat, pine nuts & onions. Season to taste.
• 5. Wash the chickens and pat dry inside and out and set them into a shallow roasting pan.
• 6. Divide the rice into two separate bowls. Reserve one bowl to serve with the chicken. Spoon stuffing from the other bowl into the cavity of the chicken, fitting as much as you can. Using toothpicks, secure the opening to the cavity as best as you can. If you prefer, you can sew the cavity closed.
• 7. In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, yogurt & pomegranate molasses. Rub into the chicken breast. Salt & pepper the chicken. Place some pats of butter under the breast skin, and rub a little more onto the chicken skin.
• 8. For a tender bird, slow roast the chicken using this method. Preheat oven to 150° C and roast the chicken. Roast until the chicken reaches 70° C, then turn the oven up to 190° C, baste the chicken with its juices, and roast until the chicken's internal temperature reaches 80° C. This should take a total of 2 and a half to 3 hours, depending on the size of the chickens.
• 9. Cover with foil and let the chicken rest for 5 to 10 minutes, for its juices to redistribute.
• 10. To make the most flavorful rice, pour some of the chicken drippings from the roast pan into the reserved rice stuffing and stir it in.

Enjoy!