Recipe - Orvieto Chicken

1 1One half kg free range or
cornfed chicken; (1One half to
2)
Extra virgin olive oil
500 g Chicken livers; cleaned
2 lg Potatoes; peeled and cut
into
; 1cm discs
1 lg Bunc leaf or feather fennel
18 Black olives; stoned
Salt and pepper
48 lg Fresh garlic cloves in their
skins
50 ml Dry white wine
500 ml Chicken stock

You will need an oval roasting dish slightly bigger than the chicken, one
smallish gratin dish for square stuffing, and a frying pan.

The stuffing takes a minimum of 1 hour, including cooling time and it is
best done in advance. Put 4 tablespoons of olive oil to heat over a medium
flame in the frying pan, add the livers and stir until coloured. Then add
the minced potatoes, and cook until they are tender (you may need to add
more oil, as the potatoes may stick, but if they do, don't worry, simply
scrape the crispy bits into the mixture). It is important that the potatoes
are fully cooked. Coarsely chop the fennel and add to the potatoes with
half the olives. Mix thoroughly, season with salt and pepper, and set aside
to cool.

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas 6. Spoon the cool stuffing into the
chicken. You will have quite a lot left. Rub the chicken all over with the
olive oil, and season very generously. Put the remaining stuffing in a
suitable size gratin dish with a little olive oil and set aside. Put the
chicken on its side into the casserole, and roast in the oven for 20
minutes, uncovered. It should be spitting and generally furious by this
time. Gingerly turn the chicken onto the other side and give it 20 minutes
more. Turn down the oven to 180C/360F/gas 4 if it is browning too much. Put
the excess stuffing into the oven to roast. Add the garlic cloves to the
casserole and turn the chicken breast side down for 20 minutes, and throw
in the remaining black olives.

Remove the fowl from the casserole to the chopping board and let it rest.
Keep the garlic and olives warm in a dish. Remove any excess fat from the
casserole. Add the wine to the casserole and boil vigorously until nearly
evaporated. Add the broth and reduce by three quarters. This whole process
should take 10 minutes. Cut the chickens into eighths, and arrange on a
heated serving platter around the scooped out stuffing. Scatter more
chopped fennel, the olives and garlic on top and serve with extra stuffing.

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