NEIL'S RECIPES: ROAST CHICKEN AND SKIRLIE

“As you all know, I adore roast chicken, but try adding skirlie. It’s basically a stuffing, but you can easily serve it as a side dish. A delicious way to grace any table.”

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

1 free-range organic chicken – approx 1.5kg

4 onions peeled

1 sprig of thyme

1 organic Sicilian lemon

1 handful of sage

Sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper

A few knobs of butter

A glass of white wine

500ml good, dark chicken stock (ideally made from last Sunday’s roast chicken)

METHOD

Pre-heat oven to 200 C

Season the bird inside and out with salt and pepper.  Place the thyme, sage and half a lemon in the cavity.

Slice the onions and place in a roasting tin.  Lay the bird, breast side down, in the tin and put in the oven for half an hour.

Remove from the oven and turn the bird over, season again with salt and pepper and return to the oven and cook for a further half an hour.  Remove and rest for 20 mins before carving.

To make gravy.  Remove chicken and leave somewhere warm.  Place the roasting tin on the hob and add the glass of wine.  Bring to the boil and reduce by half.  Add the chicken stock and boil for 10-15 mins and add a few knobs of butter whisking all the time.  Push through a sieve squeezing all the goodness out of the onions.  Season again with salt and pepper and more lemon juice.

Serve with roasted potatoes and lots of local, seasonal veg.

TO MAKE SKIRLIE

INGREDIENTS

1 small onion, peeled and finely diced

1 sprig of thyme

2 tablespoons of good beef fat

150g pinhead oats, soaked for a few hours in water, then drained

Good salt and pepper

METHOD 

Add the beef fat to a solid pan and melt over a medium heat. When melted, add the chopped onion and thyme and season. Fry until the onion is just starting to colour. I love this smell!

Add the oats and keep stirring as it all combines and you hear the skirl of the oats and fat. You may need to add a touch of water to prevent it sticking.

Check the seasoning and cook for around 10 minutes until it plumps up and takes on a light brown colour.

Let it cool slightly then use to stuff a chicken crop - the part between the wings - and roast the bird as normal allowing a little extra time.

Skirlie is great with gravy, as it soaks up all the chicken’s juices up during cooking and saves it for your plate.