Roasted Chicken with Filling, Rice and Vegetables

Ingredients

• 1 large chicken (ca. 1.2-1.4 kg)
• 2 cups wild rice
• 300 g shallots
• 1 small zucchini
• 2 bell peppers (red or orange)
• 3 tomatoes
• 2 carrots
• 300 g Mushrooms
• 1 tsp harissa
• 250 ml water (or as needed)
• Salt
• Pepper
• olive oil (for roasting and brushing)
• saffron
• 3 sprigs rosemary
• 5 bay leaves
• 1 pinch paprika powder (spicy, to taste)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Cook rice in lightly salted boiling water for about 15 minutes, then drain and set aside.

2. 2.

   Meanwhile, blanch the tomatoes, peel, core, and dice them. Wash the peppers, remove seeds and membranes, slice into strips. Peel carrots and cut into sticks; wipe mushrooms with paper towel and halve or quarter. Peel shallots and optionally quarter lengthwise. Dice zucchini small. Chop half of the vegetables finely, set aside the rest. Wash herbs, pluck rosemary leaves, finely chop 1 tsp.

3. 3.

   Sauté the chopped vegetables in a pot with a little olive oil, season with pepper and salt, add rosemary, and gently steam for about 5 minutes while turning occasionally. Mix with rice and season with harissa.

4. 4.

   Rub the chicken inside and out with pepper, salt, and saffron, then fill it with part of the vegetable rice. Secure with wooden skewers and place in a baking dish. Brush the chicken with oil and sprinkle with spices; bake at 180°C (convection) for about 20 minutes. Add the remaining vegetables mixed with a little oil, rosemary, and bay leaves, and bake another 30 minutes. After 15 minutes pour some broth and cover with foil if needed to prevent darkening.

5. 5.

   Heat the vegetable rice with a bit of broth 10 minutes before the end of cooking time and finish cooking.

6. 6.

   After baking, optionally brush the chicken with salt water and crisp it in the oven at 250°C grill mode or dust with spicy paprika. Serve together with vegetables and rice on a plate.