Lemon Chicken

Ingredients

• 1.4 kg whole chicken
• Salt
• Pepper (freshly ground)
• 100 g basmati rice
• 1 onion
• 100 g carrots
• 1 tbsp almond slivers (fat‑free toasted)
• 250 ml poultry stock
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp sherry
• 1 tbsp oil
• 2 lemons

Instructions

1. 1.

   Wash and pat dry the chicken, then season with salt and pepper.

2. 2.

   Cook the rice in salted water according to package instructions, drain, cool, and set aside.

3. 3.

   Peel and finely dice the onion.

4. 4.

   Wash, peel, and grate the carrots coarsely.

5. 5.

   Grate the zest of one lemon, halve it, squeeze out half the juice. Peel the other half and finely chop the flesh.

6. 6.

   Stir the onions, carrots, chopped lemon flesh, and juice with almond slivers into the rice; season with salt and pepper.

7. 7.

   Stuff the chicken with the rice mixture, secure the opening with toothpicks, tie the legs together with kitchen twine, and cross the wings over the back.

8. 8.

   Slice the remaining lemon into rounds.

9. 9.

   Place the prepared chicken breast‑side up in a heat‑proof dish, top with the lemon slices, and roast in a preheated oven at 200 °C for about 1 ¼ hours. Add stock gradually during roasting and baste the chicken occasionally with the pan juices.

10. 10.

    Remove the chicken from the oven. Whisk together honey, sherry, grated lemon zest, and oil; brush over the chicken and finish breast‑side up at 250 °C for about 5 minutes until crisp.

11. 11.

    Deglaze the roasting pan with a little water, strain into a saucepan, and use as sauce.