Orange Chicken

To a lover of good and hearty food, there are few things more beautiful than a roasted chicken. This fresh tasting chicken is stuffed with oranges and rubbed with saffron, so it looks, smells and tastes even better. By using a large syringe to inject orange juice and butter into the lean meat of the chicken, I make sure that the meat is juicy and flavourful. I serve the dish with oven-baked fennels that I bake in the same oven proof dish. You could add potatoes too - the cooking juices will flavour them in a very nice way.

INGREDIENTS:

Number of servings

Servings: 4

List of ingredients

One 3 pound (1,3 kg) free range chicken

2-3 oranges

1 pinch saffron powder

Salt

4 tablespoon melted butter

¼ cup (½ dl) orange juice

2 fennel bulbs, in quarters

PREPARATION:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees (200C).

• Cut the whole oranges into chunks. Fill the cavity of the chicken with as many of the orange pieces as you can. Season the chicken with salt and rub it with saffron powder. Brush the chicken with half of the melted butter. In an ovenproof dish, put the rest of the orange pieces, making a foundation for the chicken.

• Use a large syringe to inject orange juice and the rest of the melted butter into the chicken breast. Place the chicken on top of the orange pieces.Add the fennel.

• Bake the chicken and the fennel in the oven for 55 minutes. Let rest uncovered for 15-20 minutes before serving to allow the juices to set.