Ingredients - serves 4 1.8kg chicken 25g softened butter 1/2 lemon + sprig of sage 1/2 onion salt, pepper 6 thick slices dry bread 1 onion, peeled & roughly chopped 12-16 sage leaves 25g butter, chilled & diced 1 egg salt, pepper

Method

1 Pre heat the oven to 180°C
Place the sprig of sage inside the bird together with the onion (no need to peel). Spread the butter over the skin and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 1hr 20 minutes, basting a couple of times, and after an hour squeeze over the juice of half a lemon and pop the skin inside the cavity too. Check that the chicken is properly cooked and if not give more time then allow to rest for a few minutes before carving. Add a little chicken stock to the meat residues to make a sauce - adding more lemon juice and seasoning to taste if necessary.

2 Tear up the bread slices and put them in a food processor together with chopped onion, sage leaves, diced butter and pulse a few times (don’t over-process the stuffing mixture or the onion will taste bitter and the texture will be lost to a purée) then add seasoning and egg for a final pulse. Take small handfuls and fashion lightly into balls the size of large walnuts. Sit in an oven proof dish and bake for the final 20-30 minutes of chicken cooking time until they are golden (don’t cook around the bird as they’ll absorb all juices). Serve at least one per person with chicken, lemon sauce and whatever else has taken your fancy.