Sounds strange? Well, I'm going to explain how you can place your stuffing under the skin of the bird so that the meat is basted and flavoured during cooking time.

To make life easier it's best to split the chicken along the backbone with either a large kitchen knife or scissors. Once flattened it's a simple matter to slide your hand under the skin from the neck opening and gently separate it from the meat - without tearing. Start on one side and move you hand across the breast, then down the thigh and finally around the drumstick before going over to the other side and doing the same. On a decent chicken such as these the skin is supple and resistant to tearing.

Once stuffed, the bird can be pushed back into its original form - though it will look decidedly plumper - and roasted as usual. For this recipe I'm suggesting a stuffing of courgette and Capricorn goat's cheese.

Ingredients - serves 4

1 medium chicken, split and skin loosened as described

for the stuffing:
1 onion, finely chopped
450g courgettes, grated
1 Capricorn goat's cheese
1 sprig of thyme
25g butter
25g fresh breadcrumbs
salt, pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Make the stuffing by sweating the chopped onion in the butter until translucent. Add the grated courgette and the thyme together with some seasoning and cook until the courgette is wilted - this won't take very long. Remove the thyme and leave the mixture to cool a little. Chop the goat's cheese into small dice - this is done more easily if the cheese isn't ripe and is well chilled. Once cooled, mix in the diced cheese and breadcrumbs and check the seasoning.

Stuffing the chicken is a messy business and best done by hand. Initially take a small amount of the stuffing, lift the skin at the neck edge again, and make first for the drumstick, pushing the stuffing around the muscle then around the thigh. Once both legs are surrounded push the remaining stuffing around the breast meat. Once all is under the skin, rinse your hands, pull the backbone together again, pull the neck skin down and tuck under the bird, and massage the stuffing into its final position. Tie the legs together for appearances sake. Sit in a roasting tin and cover loosely with foil - because of the cheese and butter, the skin will brown too quickly otherwise.

Roast as you would normally and then move to a warm platter. The chicken will be incredibly moist and will require no sauce - don't serve the juices produced as they're too fatty - it's also very rich. Personally I like it served with salad but your appetite may be greater.