Easy roast chicken dinner

The menu

• Light meals & snacks

  Broccoli and Stilton soup with Stilton croûtons

• Main course

  Roast chicken and sage and onion stuffing and gooseberry sauce

• Side dishes

  Dauphinoise potatoes

• Desserts

  Plum clafoutis

• Drinks and cocktails

  French martini

Menu ingredients

Serves 8

• Fruit and vegetables

  • 350g/12oz broccoli, florets and stalks cut into small pieces

  • 4 spring onions, finely sliced

  • 4 onions, peeled, quartered

  • 8 fresh sage leaves

  • 1 lemon, zest only

  • 1 kg/2lb 4oz baking potatoes, peeled and placed in a bowl of cold water to prevent them from browning (use floury potatoes such as Russet, King Edward, Maris Piper or Desiree)

  • 3-4 cloves garlic

  • 500g/1lb 2oz plums, cut in half, stones removed

  • 15ml/½fl oz raspberry liqueur

• Tins, packets and jars

  • 1 tbsp plain flour

• Cooking ingredients

  • 400ml/14fl oz vegetable stock

  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • pinch freshly grated nutmeg

  • 125g/4½oz fresh breadcrumbs

  • pinch freshly grated nutmeg

  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 4 tbsp caster sugar

  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 2-3 drops vanilla essence

  • 170g/6oz caster sugar

  • 2 tbsp brown sugar

  • 30g/1oz flaked almonds (optional)

  • icing sugar, for dusting

• Drinks

  • 300ml/10½fl oz white wine

• Dairy, eggs and chilled

  • 25g/1oz butter

  • 50g/1¾oz Stilton, crumbled, or to taste

  • 100ml/3½fl oz double cream

  • 100g/3½oz Stilton, sliced

  • 40g/1½oz butter, plus extra for brushing

  • 1 free-range egg yolk

  • 25g/1oz unsalted butter

  • 500ml/17½fl oz double cream (you may need a bit extra)

  • 125ml/4½fl oz milk

  • 125ml/4½fl oz double cream

  • 4 free-range eggs

  • 30g/1oz butter

  • double cream, to serve

• Meat, fish and poultry

  • 2 x 1kg/2lb 2oz free-range chickens

• Other

  • 4 slices French bread

  • 100ml/3½fl oz water

  • 100ml/3½fl oz water

  • 250g/9oz gooseberries, topped and tailed

  • 300ml/10½fl oz chicken juices, (reserved from cooking the roast chicken), or chicken stock

  • 50ml/2fl oz vodka

  • 35ml/1½fl oz fresh pineapple juice