Free range chicken stuffed with Marjoram butter and black truffle

Pair this earthy dish to the 2008 Maxime Graillot Domaine Des Lises Crozes Hermitage Rouge.

Ingredients:

1 Free range chicken
A good tbsp of seas salt flakes
1 fresh marjoram
100g of butter
1 black truffle

Method:

Take chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking. A cold chicken will be shocked by the hot oven and it's better to cook meat gently. Place chicken on rack that sits a little above baking tray. Cut a 2mm-ish slice of butter and chop a couple of marjoram leaves onto the butter. Press gently into the butter. Place between the skin and breasts of the bird. At this point salve the truffle gently and place atop the butter under the breast of the skin...as as much as you feel appropriate to your budget! Salt outside and rub with a little olive oil. Place in 180˚ oven for 45 minutes. Allow to rest for 10 minutes. This chicken can be used for everything; torn up into a salad with seasonal vegetables such as dandelion and peas or sliced up with some baby coz in a sandwich.

About Cookes Food:

Chef Sophie Cookes commenced her career working at the Observatory Cafe in Melbourne's Botanic Gardens before travelling to Paris to study cooking at Le Cordon Blue institute and a doing a stint working in London. Returning to Melbourne, she established Cooke's Food (cafe, catering, cooking school) in March 2008 with the desire to offer an experience to clients that is both memorable and personal with a focus on using seasonal produce. Based in Toorak, Cookes Food offer an un-pretentious approach to cooking; the food style is classic with rustic appeal and the environment is warm and welcoming.