Chicken Ballotine

Instructions

Spinach, Cheese and Bread Stuffing

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or skillet. Add the garlic, spinach, salt, and pepper and cook for 1 minute to soften the garlic and wilt the spinach.
2. Transfer to a bowl and let cool to room temperature. (The cheese and bread come into play when you are stuffing the chicken, so just prepare them and set aside for now).
   

Ballotine of Chicken

1. First watch this video on how to debone the chicken.
2. Preheat the oven to moderately hot 400°F/200°C/gas mark 6.
3. Lay the chicken skin side down on the work surface and sprinkle with the salt and pepper.
4. Spread the cool rice or spinach mixture evenly over the chicken – stuffing the legs too.
5. Sprinkle the cheese and bread cubes on top of the spinach.
6. Roll the chicken up, tie it with kitchen string, and place it in a roasting pan.
7. Roast the ballotine for about 1 hour or until the temperature is 160-165 degrees F in the center of the ballotine. I took mine out after 50 minutes and let it sit until it reached 165.
8. Lift it from the pan and place it on a cutting board.
   

For the sauce:

1. Skim off and discard most of the fat from the drippings in the pan.
2. Add the water and wine to the drippings to deglaze the pan, and heat over medium heat, stirring to loosen and melt the solidified juices.
3. Strain the juices into a saucepan.
4. Add the celery, onion, and carrot and bring to a boil over high heat.
5. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and boil gently for 5 minutes.
6. Stir in the dissolved corn starch and soy sauce and bring the mixture back to a boil, stirring, to thicken it.
7. Remove from the heat.

Serving

1. Remove the string from the ballotine.
2. Cut half of it into 4 or 5 slices, each about 1 inch thick.
3. Return the uncut half of the ballotine to the serving platter and arrange the cut slices in front of it.
4. Pour the sauce over and around the ballotine, garnish with the parsley, and serve.
5. Cut additional slices of ballotine as needed at the table.