Roasted Chicken With Gravy And Potatoes - cooking recipe

Ingredients

3 tbsp butter
2 None slices of bacon, finely chopped
1 None small leek, thinly sliced
2 None celery stalks, finely chopped
1 1/3 cups stale breadcrumbs
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tbsp roughly chopped sage leaves
1 None whole chicken, about 4 lbs
2 tbsp olive oil
2 lbs potatoes, washed and halved
2 tbsp all purpose flour
2 cups chicken stock

Preparation

Melt butter in a pan over medium heat. Add bacon, leeks and celery, and cook until vegetables are tender. Cool and transfer to a bowl, add breadcrumbs, egg and sage leaves, and mix to combine.
Preheat oven to 400\u00b0F.
Clean chicken briefly under cold running water and pat dry, inside and out, using paper towels. Tuck wing tips under chicken, trim skin around neck and secure to underside of chicken with toothpicks.
Fill cavity with breadcrumb mixture and tie legs together with kitchen string. Place chicken on an oiled wire rack in a large, roasting pan. Rub chicken all over with half of oil and roast in the oven, uncovered, for 1 1/2 hours.
Boil, steam or microwave potatoes for 5 minutes, then drain. Toss with remaining oil in a large, shallow roasting pan and cook in oven, uncovered, for 1 hour, turning occasionally. Remove chicken from oven, then remove the chicken from the roasting pan and cover to keep warm.
Increase oven temperature to 475\u00b0F. Roast the potatoes, uncovered, for another 15 minutes, until golden and crisp.
To make gravy, drain all but 2 tablespoons of chicken juices from baking dish and heat dish on medium. Add flour and cook, stirring, until mixture thickens and bubbles. Gradually add stock and 1 cup water, stirring until gravy boils and thickens. Strain into a serving container.
Serve chicken with stuffing, potatoes and gravy.