Get ready to wow your guests with this Mediterranean-Style Whole Stuffed Chicken —a festive favorite from Chef Giorgos Tsoulis!
This dish is all about cozy, comforting Mediterranean flavors: juicy roast chicken with a sweet and nutty filling of prunes, pine nuts, and rosemary-infused butter that melts right into the meat.
It’s the perfect recipe to bring rich aromas and a touch of elegance to your table. Ideal for any celebration, this roast is sure to make every bite memorable and keep everyone coming back for more!
Mediterranean-Style Whole Stuffed Chicken
Giorgos Tsoulis
This whole stuffed Mediterranean chicken recipe by Chef Giorgos Tsoulis is a festive, flavor-packed centerpiece perfect for special gatherings. Stuffed with sweet prunes and nutty pine nuts, and infused with herbed butter under a crispy golden skin, this roast chicken is both tender and aromatic.
Preheat the oven to 180° C/ 356° F, on convection mode.
In a bowl, mix 200 g (7 oz) of butter, rosemary, salt, and pepper thoroughly, wearing disposable gloves.
Place the butter mixture under the skin of the chicken. This is done by gently separating the skin from the meat (without removing it entirely) to create a pocket between the two. The herbed butter mixture is then spread directly onto the meat beneath the skin.This technique helps keep the meat moist and infuses it with the flavors of the butter, rosemary, salt, and pepper during roasting.
Season the inside of the chicken with salt and pepper, then stuff it with the pine nuts, prunes, and the remaining butter. Tie the legs with kitchen twine.
In a roasting pan, spread out the onions, carrots, celery, bay leaves, and peppercorns, and pour in the water.
Place a rack over the pan and put the chicken on top. Cover it well with parchment paper and aluminum foil and roast for 1 hour.
After, uncover the chicken and continue roasting for an additional 20 minutes, until the skin turns golden brown.
Transfer the contents of the pan to a saucepan and blend with an immersion blender until it becomes a thick sauce.
Place a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl and strain the sauce to achieve a smooth texture.
Return the sauce to the saucepan and simmer until it thickens.
Serve the chicken hot, drizzled with the sauce.
Notes
Chef’s tip: Place the butter under the skin to make it crispier while keeping the meat juicy.
Celebrity Chef Giorgos Tsoulis specializes in modern Mediterranean cuisine and his recipes are widely appreciated not just in Greece and Cyprus but also around the world.
He has been the executive chef of numerous successful Greek restaurants, while at the same time hosting many popular culinary TV shows in Greece and Cyprus. Giorgos Tsoulis is passionate about educating his fans in more sustainable and healthy cooking and eating while making the most of the flavors of the ingredients.
As sustainable cuisine ambassador for WWF Hellas, he plays a key role in cooking activations that relate to the European #Eat4Change program, as well as the #Farm2Fork program.
