Italian Meats and Poultry Recipes - Roast Chicken with Fruit and Pesto

Ingredients                      

• 1 cup apricot or peach preserves

• 1/2 cup snipped dried apricots or peaches

• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

• 2/3 cup purchased basil pesta

• 1 5- to 6-pound whole roasting chicken

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Method:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. In a medium bowl stir together preserves, apricots,. and ginger. Place 1/3 cup of the preserves mixture in a small bowl; stir in pesta and set aside. Set aside remaining preserves mixture for sauce.

2. On one side of chicken, slip your fingers between the skin and breast meat of the chicken, forming a pocket; repeat on other side of chicken. Spoon some of the preserves-pesta mixture under the skin and spread over the breast meat.

3. Spread some of the preserves-pesta mixture into the neck cavity. Pull neck skin to back; fasten with a small skewer. Spread some of the preserves-pesta mixture into the body cavity.

4. Rub remaining preserves-pesto mixture over outside of chicken. Tuck drumsticks under the band of skin that crosses the tail. (If there is no band, tie drumsticks to the tail.) Twist the wing tips under the back.

5. Place chicken, breast side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Insert an oven-going meat thermometer into the center of an inside thigh muscle, making sure the bulb does not touch bone.

6. Roast, uncovered, for 1 3/4 to 2 1/2 hours or until drumsticks move easily in their sockets, chicken is no longer pink, and meat thermometer registers 180°F. When the bird is two-thirds done, cut the band of skin or string between the drumsticks so the thighs cook evenly. Transfer chicken to a serving platter. Let stand for IS minutes before carving.

7. Meanwhile, for sauce, in a small saucepan heat the reserved preserves mixture over low heat until preserves have melted and heated through. Serve sauce with sliced chicken.