The Best Roast Chicken Ever?

I've always been particularly interested in French food, something I've had very little experience of cooking.  This is possibly because of its reputation for being difficult, so I'm trying to overcome this sense of intimidation.

As most of my favourite French dishes (eg: Confit du Canard, Cassoulet, Tarte au Citron) are heart-stoppingly high in fat and/or sugar, it's always mystified me why you never see many obese French people, women especially.  I read a book some years ago called "French Women Don't Get Fat" by Mireille Guiliano, which aimed to explain this.  As I remember, the key reasons for this phenomenon were explained by Mireille as follows (some of these I approve of and some I don't - I'll leave it to you to guess which):

• Portion sizes tend to be smaller in comparison to food in the UK (which seems to be going the way of super-size America).  However, the intense flavours and loving care taken to prepare food mean that your tastebuds are more easily satisfied.
• French people take more time to eat meals and really savour them, not shovelling food down on the hoof or in front of the telly.
• There is a strong salad culture in France and chefs devote the same care and imagination to their preparation as they do with any other dish.
• The French woman's attitude towards the dessert course is to eat one spoonful and then sneak the rest on to their partner's plate (because of course it's OK for men to be fat in France but women taking up room is not on).
• French women are more likely to smoke in lieu of some courses during a meal (although I was surprised to see that the public smoking ban seems to have now reached Paris so it may be less acceptable than previously to chuff away whilst other people are trying to taste their food).

In her book "The Skinny French Kitchen", Harry Eastwood presents a collection of recipes that taste authentically French but which use significantly less fat than in traditionally prepared French food.  I rather like Harry.  She is a bit of a jolly hockey stick (and has a serious Daddy fixation) but her eccentricity is quite endearing (in her last book, "Red Velvet Chocolate Heartache", she ascribed personalities to the various cakes - a fine example of behaviour that in someone less posh or rich, would be described as symptomatic of mental illness).

I was drawn to the following recipe from "The Skinny French Kitchen", partly because Harry has boldly named it "The Best Roast Chicken Ever".  I was intrigued by the fact that it includes lemongrass, which I associate with Thai food rather than French.  Authentically French or not, it is DE-LICIOUS and a good one to knock up when you're cooking to impress.  I served it with very simple boiled new potatoes and a lightly dressed green salad - as it's so packed with flavour, anything else would be overdoing it.  It doesn't sound like a lot of meat for four people but as the stuffing is so tasty, you don't really need much chicken.

The Best Roast Chicken Ever (serves 4 - 332 calories per serving)

1 small free-range chicken, weighing around 1.2 kg

For the stuffing:
1 tablespoon olive oil
200g wild mushrooms eg: ceps, girollesor chanterelle, roughly chopped (I used a packet of dried wild mushrooms, reconstituted in hot water and made the weight up with some chestnut mushrooms, which I figure are a bit more interesting than bog standard button ones)
Freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
1 stick of lemongrass, finely chopped (my best friend Karen bought me a really good mezzaluna as a Christmas present and it makes light work of chopping something as tough and woody as lemongrass)
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced to a pulp
2 slices proscuttio, finely chopped
1 tablespoon of half-fat creme fraiche
Salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C/325 degrees F/Gas Mark 3.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan until really hot, then add the mushrooms and fry until they are golden.  Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, mix together all the stuffing ingredients, including the warm mushrooms.  Taste, then season thoroughly with pepper and a little salt.

Stuffing ingredients

4. Next, run your fingers between the skin and flesh of the chicken, starting with the breasts and ending up with the legs.  Be gentle as you separate the skin from the flesh - you need to avoid ripping the skin.
5. Spread the stuffing generously all over the flesh of the bird, securing it with the skin so that none runs out (Harry notes that it helps to tie the chicken's legs together).

Frankenchicken

6. Put the chicken in a baking tray at the BOTTOM of the oven and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour.  (*** IMPORTANT: The aim here is to cook the chicken SLOWLY so that it is cooked right through.  Make sure that the chicken is cooked thoroughly by piercing the thickest part of the thigh with a sharp knife - the juices should run clear, not red or pink.  No blood should ooze from the cavity or underside of the chicken either - if it appears that it's cooking unevenly, cover the chicken with tin foil to stop the breasts from browning too much and give it a little longer.)  Rest for 15 minutes before serving and spoon the juices over as gravy.

The cooked chicken on the only piece of Crown Devon Stockholm tableware that I own (subtle hint for future Christmas presents)