Succulent Roast Chicken with Apricot-Matzah Stuffing
Serves 6.
Leftovers keep 3 days under refrigeration.
Freezes 3 months.

To keep the breast meat juicy, the bird is cooked breast-side down and turned over to complete the browning only in the last 40 minutes.

1 chicken, 4-1/2 to 5 lb (2-2.25 kg)
1 fat garlic clove
olive oil for brushing the bird
salt and black pepper
15 oz. (425 ml) strong chicken stock, or use 1 stock cube and 15 fl oz (425 ml)water

For the gravy:
2 teaspoons potato flour (starch)
2 Tablespoons water or white wine.

When calculating the cooking time, allow an extra 15 minutes for the bird to "settle" out of the oven before it is carved.

Preheat the oven to Gas no. 5 (375� F, 190� C).

Put a poultry cradle or grilling rack in a roasting tin that will just hold the bird comfortably.

Make a shallow nick on each side of the bird where the leg joint meets the breast and insert half the peeled clove of garlic just under the skin.

Brush the bird all over with olive oil and season with a sprinkling of salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Pour the hot stock into the roasting tin, then lay the bird upside down on the cradle or rack (if it doesn't sit comfortably, lay it on its side). Roast it this way for 20 minutes to the pound (.5 kg) plus 20 minutes � for a 5 lb (2.25 kg) bird, the total cooking time will be 2 hours.

Baste the bird every 1/2 hour with the stock, then 40 minutes before the end ofthe cooking time, turn it over and cook breast-side up. Lift it on to a carving dish or board, cover lightly with foil (to keep the heat in).

To make the gravy: pour off any free fat and add 10 fl oz (275 ml) boiling water. Stir well to loosen any of the crispy bits on the bottom of the tin, then pour into a small pan and add 2 teaspoons potato flour mixed to a cream with 2 Tablespoons water or white wine. Bring to the boil and simmer for 3 minutes.Taste it and correct the seasoning if necessary.

Apricot-Matzah Stuffing

4 oz. (125 g) tenderised dried apricots, each cut in quarters
4 oz. (125 g) matzot
6 oz. (175 g) cooking water from apricots
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 oz. (50 g) margarine
grated rind of half large lemon
good squeeze lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
good speck of white pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 Tablespoon chopped parsley
1 large egg

Cover apricots with water, cover and cook on 100 per cent power in the microwave for five minutes, or simmer in a small covered pan for 10 minutes. Leave to cool.

Crumble the matzot as finely as possible into a large basin. Add the 6 oz (175ml) liquid from the apricots and leave to soften.

Meanwhile, cook the onion in the margarine until softened and golden.

Add the seasonings and the beaten egg to the matzah, then add to the onions in
the pan and cook gently until the matzah starts to brown and loses some of itswetness. Stir in the well-drained apricots and mix well. Stuff the cavity of thebird.

This is from Evelyn Rose's column in the April 10, 1998, Jewish Chronicle, UK.