This recipe tastes as good as it looks on paper. There are a few intricate steps involved, but believe me, it is worth it.
Ingredients:
1 head garlic
extra virgin olive oil
fine sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
10-12 dried apricots
5 dried Mission figs
half a cup shelled raw pistachio nuts unsalted
1 whole 3-5 pound chicken, washed and patted dry
half orange unpeeled, sliced
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
kitchen twine
3 tbsp margarine melted
Directions:
You can prepare this dish with chicken parts as well. Lay orange slices and sprigs of rosemary in your baking pan. Place the stuffed chicken pieces on top. Bake as directed below.
Preheat oven to 375F.
Holding the head of garlic on its side, cut 1-2 inches off the top of the bulb to expose the cloves. Place the head into the center of a square of foil on a small baking pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Close the foil packet. Roast for 45 minutes to an hour till soft, golden and fragrant.
Meanwhile, in a food processor fitted with a metal blade, chop the apricots, dried figs and pistachios into very small pieces. With your finger, loosen the skin of the chicken, going under the skin of the breast thighs and legs.
Massage the fruit mixture under the skin, getting into cavities where the skin was loosened.
Stuff orange slices and rosemary into the cavity of the chicken. Tie the legs closed with kitchen twine. Place the chicken in a 9x12” pyrex dish. When the garlic is softened and caramelized, remove it from the oven and squeeze the roasted garlic form the skin onto a cutting board. Mash the garlic with the back of a knife to make a smooth paste. Rub it all over the outside of the chicken. Drizzle the margarine over the top of the chicken letting it run down the sides. Tent with aluminum foil. Bake covered for 1 hour 15 minutes basting 2-3 times with the pan juices. Uncover and roast until the skin is brown, watching to make sure the garlic doesn’t burn.
