Matt Moran’s chicken roasted in spiced hay with lemon stuffing

1.Preheat oven to 180C. For lemon stuffing, combine bread and milk in a bowl, stand until bread softens (10 seconds), drain and squeeze out excess milk (discard). Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat, add garlic and shallot, stir occasionally until tender (4-5 minutes), cool, then combine in a food processor with bread mixture and remaining ingredients. Season to taste, process to combine and set aside.

2.Gently separate the skin from chicken breasts with your fingers, then spoon in a little stuffing and spread evenly across breast by gently running your hand over skin to smooth out. Spoon remaining stuffing into cavity, seal with a skewer, season chicken to taste and set aside.

3.For spiced hay, combine ingredients in a large casserole with a tight-fitting lid, mix well to combine and set aside.

4.Heat oil in a large frying pan over high heat, add chicken and cook, turning occasionally, until browned all over. Place on top of hay mixture, cover and roast until just cooked through (1½ hours-1 hour 40 minutes). Set aside to rest for 5 minutes.

5.Preheat a char-grill pan over high heat, grill lemon wedges until slightly charred and serve with hot hay-roasted chicken.