Christmas 2021 and somehow it didn’t feel Christmassy enough for a turkey or goose but a large free range chicken from Woolley Grange was perfect. Chicken and all the trimmings!

My favourite Christmas stuffing is the potato and apple stuffing already given but I wanted something fresher for a chicken. I found this recipe in Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s The River Cottage Meat Book which he calls My Favourite Stuffing. The title says it all.

500g fresh chestnuts (or 400g good quality prepared and ready for use whole chestnuts)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 head celery, chopped
30g butter
12 plump prunes (my local shop sells the most delicious French prunes from a large box)
1 tbsp chopped parsley
50g fresh white breadcrumbs
1 chicken liver, chopped (optional)
1 egg, beaten
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

If using fresh chestnuts, prepare these by making a small slit in the skin of each chestnut and blanching them in boiling water for a few minutes. Peel off both the outer skin and the thin brown skin and then cook in water for about 20 minutes more or until the chestnuts are tender. Drain and leave to cool, then crush them up roughly with a fork. If using ready prepared chestnuts, simply cut them into pieces.

Remove the stones from the prunes and finely chop the fruit.

In a large frying pan, sauté the onion and celery for about six minutes or until starting to soften. Add the chestnuts, prunes and parsley, season well and cook for a few minutes more. Remove from the heat.

When cool, add the breadcrumbs and liver (if using ) .

Use either to stuff a loin of pork or put into an oven proof dish to cook outside the chicken. Cook for about 35 minutes at 180°C when it should be browned and crisp on top.

Great not only for Christmas lunch but also cold on Boxing Day.