Roast Chicken with Apple and Herb Stuffing

I was passing through Bridgehampton yesterday and stopped at the Halsey family farmstand -- The Milk Pail -- for apples and delicious cider.   I just had to stuff a chicken with apples for dinner!

Ingredients

For Chicken:
5 sprigs of parsley
4 sprigs of thyme
1 4-lb white broiler or 3 1/2 lb red broiler
1/2 lemon
1/2 onion, quartered

Preheat oven to 375. Put the sprigs of parsley & thyme, the lemon and onion into chicken cavity. Season with pepper.

For Stuffing:
2 Tablespoons butter
1 small onion, finely diced
1 large apple, grated
1 cup of frsh breadcrumbs (I recommend Blue Duck cranberry-walnut bread)
1 small egg, beaten
1 Tablespoon parsley, chopped
1 Tablespoon thyme, chopped
Zest of 1 lemon
salt and black pepper

To make the stuffing:  soften the diced onion in the butter for a few minutes.  Remove from heat and add apple, bread crumbs, parlsey, thyme, lemon zest, egg, salt and pepper.

Spoon the stuffing into the neck-end of the chicken. If you leave the neck attached, just cut an opening.  Close up the skin over the stuffing and secure with a wooden skewer. Put the leftover stuffing into an oven proof dish and cook for the last 40 minutes with the chicken.

Rub a little oil or butter, salt and pepper onto the chicken and cook breast-side down in a roasting pan until brown.  Once brown, flip over and cook for approx 1 1/2 hours. Allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before carving.

Curried Chicken Salad with Apples and Raisins

With the chilly weather the last few nights, we've been indulging in roasted chicken for dinner.

Instead of making soup with the left-overs,  I've been using a fork to shred the chicken from the bones and making chicken salad for our lunch the next day. Much more 'Spring' appropriate!  

Serves 2

1/4 cup of low-fat or regular mayo
1 teaspoon pf curry powder
2 teaspoons water
1 cup of shredded chicken
1 small apple, chopped
1/3 cup of diced celery
3 tablespoons raisins or currants
1/8 teaspoon salt

Combine mayonnaise, curry powder, and water in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add the chicken, chopped apple, celery, raisins or currants, and salt; stir mixture well to combine. Cover and chill.