Who says you have to have turkey on Thanksgiving? Often, chickens are easier to work with and to cook. Stuffed with prosciutto and spinach, this chicken will have your guests licking their fingers and won’t make anyone miss the traditional holiday turkey.
If you’re not into turkey, or if you’d like to try something different this year for Thanksgiving, how about cooking this herb roasted chicken? The flavors are delicious—and best of all, you won’t have to figure in any thawing time!
For this recipe you’ll need:
1 Roasting Chicken (about 4 pounds)
1 (12 ounce) package herbed bread stuffing
1 cup water or chicken broth
3 Tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
¾ cup frozen, chopped spinach, thawed
2 ounces of prosciutto or baked ham, cubed
2 cloves minced garlic
2 teaspoons dried sage
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
2 Tablespoons heavy cream
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
To make this recipe:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse the chicken and pat it dry with paper towels.
Place a roasting rack in a large roasting pan.
In a large bowl, use a wooden spoon to mix the stuffing with 1 cup of water or chicken broth.
In a large skillet, over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the diced onion, thawed spinach, diced prosciutto, garlic, sage, and rosemary to the skillet and sauté for about 5 minutes until tender.
Add the spinach mixture to the stuffing. Stir in the heavy cream and lemon juice. Mix well.
Spoon the stuffing loosely into the chicken cavity, filling it about ¾ full. Fold the skin over the openings and close with metal skewers. Tuck the wings under the chicken and place it on the roasting rack.
Roast chicken for about 1 hour 45 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thigh (not touching the bone) registers 180 degrees and the chicken is golden.