Roast Chicken with Spinach stuffing - A Boxing Day Special

Yes I know the last thing you want to hear right now is Roast or anything remotely close to it. So then why am I posting this recipe now. Well it is because I know many of you either had a festive Christmas meal(s) and may not even know what Boxing Day is all about. However there are many others globally who enjoy a public holiday on December 26th, i.e. the day after Christmas and traditionally celebrate Boxing Day. 

So what is Boxing Day - the simple explanation as per modern day practices is a day when all the leftovers of Christmas Day is shared. It may also be a day when those friends or relatives you haven't celebrated and shared the meals of Christmas Day comes over for a meal or two or more. 

After a festive meal or even a Christmas party, it may be that you do not have any leftovers to share, so hence the Roast recipe I am about to share with you. This roast has a healthy element in terms of its stuffing and is no problem at all to cook up as it has a simple marinade and does not require much of visits to stores (which I am sure your feet probably would not allow you to do). 

No need for any close monitoring either. Just pop it into the oven and it is ready to hold center place on your Boxing Day table along with any leftovers or sides. 

Some interesting learning of the origin of Boxing Day can be learnt here.

The marinade is learnt from my darling Mummy and in fact she was with me in Chennai (visiting us in February 2015) when I cooked this last roast with her.

On with the recipe...

What you need:

• 1500 gms of chicken (skin-on), cleaned well
• 2 fairly large bunches of spinach, chopped roughly
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• Ginger-Garlic paste - 2 tbsp
• 1 heaped tbsp of Chili powder
• 1 heaped tbsp of Garam Masala
• 1 tbsp salt
• Water to combine the marinade
• Olive oil

The Make:

Preparation Time: 10 minutes | Marination time: 30 minutes to 2 hours | 

1. Slit the chicken skin across the breast, legs and wings. Make a marinade of the ginger-garlic paste, Chili powder, Garam masala and salt. Rub generously all over the chicken and within the cavity as well. Set aside for 30 minutes up to 2 hours minimum.

2. Meanwhile in a large wok, drizzle some olive oil, saute some onions until lightly brown and then add the spinach leaves. Cook until the residual water disappears or up to 5 minutes. Set aside.

3. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

4. Next stuff the cavity of the chicken and all around the roast with spinach leaves and place on a roasting tray. Loosely cover the chicken with foil paper. Roast for 45 minutes to an hour.

Serve hot with your Christmas day leftovers and sides.