Roast Chicken with Nutty Stuffing Balls

A whole roasted chicken with stuffing balls, green beans and potatoes on a white plate. Pohutakawa flowers around it.

A golden, juicy roast chicken is an essential part of a Christmas dinner. The stuffing is rich with walnuts and pine nuts. When your guests try the stuffing balls, they will thank you for these little mouthfuls of deliciousness.

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 1 10

Resting time 20

Total Time 2

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine New Zealand

Servings people

Ingredients

1 Waitoa Free Range fresh whole chicken
50 g butter melted

Nutty stuffing

6 rashers Farmland thin sliced streaky bacon divided
1 onion finely chopped
1 celery finely chopped
1 clove garlic finely chopped
3 slices fresh bread cut into 1cm pieces
1 orange grated rind and juice
¾ cup FreshLife walnut pieces roughly chopped
½ cup FreshLife pine nuts whole
2 tbsp fresh thyme chopped
2 tbsp fresh rosemary chopped
1 Better Eggs® beaten
salt
black pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Take the chicken out of the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature.
Make the nutty stuffing: Finely chop the bacon*. Sauté the chopped bacon in a non-stick skillet until crispy. Drain on a paper towel to remove excess fat. Return the bacon in the same pan, add onion, garlic, and celery to cook together for 2-3 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Leave to cool for 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl then mix in all other ingredients for the stuffing.
Prepare chicken: Rinse the chicken cavity under cold running water. Pat dry with a paper towel inside and out. Spoon 1/3 - 1/2 the stuffing into the chicken cavity. Tie the legs together with unwaxed kitchen string.
Nutty stuffing balls: Make 12 stuffing balls from the remaining stuffing mixture. Place on a lined baking tray in a single layer. Drizzle or spray with a little oil and bake at 180°C for 20 minutes.
Roast chicken: Place the chicken in a roasting pan, brush melted butter all over, and season well with salt and pepper. Roast for 55 minutes or until the juices run clear when a skewer is inserted into the thighs. Remove the chicken from the oven, cover and rest for at least 20 minutes before serving.