It’s no secret I love Christmas, anyone who knows me knows that it is my favourite time of the year. I’ve held Christmas dinner for our closest friends for 14 years running, whether I’ve been living in Toronto, Sydney or Hong Kong. My typical Christmas dinner menu consists of a turkey, Asparagus and Feta Salad, roasted root vegetables, stuffing, gravy, Caesar salad, crispy brussel sprouts and more. Instead, because it’ll just be the Stringbean Husband and my parents, we have no need for that much food. Instead, I’ve been experimenting with smaller dinner options and so far this has been a favourite – Christmas chicken with Roasted Root Vegetables (and stuffing of COURSE).

I created this recipe to mimic a full turkey dinner as closely as possible, just for far fewer people. It’s complete with sage and rosemary chicken, roasted root vegetables, gravy and of course.. stuffing. If I’m being honest, stuffing is really the reason I make Christmas dinner every year. This is my mum’s stuffing recipe, tried and tested. The key to perfect stuffing : you want to use the junky white bread, no artisan sourdough here. You want soft, malleable, white bread and a lot of butter. At 32 weeks pregnant, really all I want is the stuffing and so this week has mostly been all about the stuffing things.

Tips for Roasted Christmas Chicken with Stuffing

1. Clean and dry your chicken thoroughly, being sure to clean the inside cavity as well. Rinse your chicken under warm water for 2-3 minutes, and then pat dry with clean kitchen paper.
2. Use junky white bread for the stuffing. This stuffing recipe needs soft and absorbent white bread that is a little sweeter.
3. Parboil your potatoes and carrots first. Because the chicken doesn’t have the same cooking time as a turkey, in order for your root vegetables to be fully cooked they need the jumpstart from the initial boil.
4. Brush the outside of your chicken with butter to make up for the lack of turkey juices.
5. Use a big roasting tray so that your root vegetables have lots of space. If they are packed too tightly, your potatoes will never go crispy.