Chicken wrapped in Bacon with Silverbeet, Orange & Pinenuts

Some of the girls who come to class had requested that I show them how to bone a whole chicken, as we know, it is far cheaper to buy a whole chicken than to buy boned pieces. They all did so well and I think there was even a few budding butchers in the group! So a special recipe was needed for the freshly butchered chickens, a dish no one had tried before but with easy accessible ingredients. The salty flavours of the bacon and the bitterness of the greens are balance beautifully I feel with the sweet citric orange. It’s a great winter dish that can be served a crusty bread, polenta or mashed potatoes.

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken, boned and divided into 8 pieces
• 8 slices streaky bacon
• 1 orange
• A few cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 bunch silverbeet or Swiss chard
• 1 tbsp pinenuts
• Olive oil
• Salt & Pepper

Method

• Peel strips from the orange rind, avoiding the pith.
• Squeeze the juice from the orange and reserve.
• Dry roast the pine nuts in a pan for a few minutes.
• In a large deep pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil and add garlic, cook till softened.
• Add the silver beet & orange peel and cook till chard is wilted. Season to taste.
• Remove silver beet from the pan.
• Season chicken with salt & pepper and wrap with bacon.
• Place 2 tablespoons of oil into a deep pan large enough to take all the chicken & silverbeet.
• Brown chicken on all sides then remove from pan.
• Return the silver beet to the pan with orange juice & pine nuts.
• Arrange the chicken on top of the silver beat and cook over a medium heat until the chicken is cooked, about 15-20 minutes.