small bunch of tarragon, thyme, or sage chopped - I often use thyme as it is also used in the chickpea mash
⅓ cup butter, at room temperature
4 heads of garlic, halved horizontally
4 onions, cleaned and halved horizontally
olive oil, for drizzling
salt and pepper
***FOR THE STUFFING
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 red Anaheim pepper, seeds removed and sliced - you can use any pepper for the stuffing and you can adjust the quantity based on how hot you want the dish to be. Anaheims are on the mild side.
1 lemon, zested
5 thyme sprigs, leaves only
olive oil
Instructions
Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Combine the herbs and butter. Lift the skin off the breast and legs and push the herb butter between the skin and meat. Using your fingers, push on the skin to spread the butter over the top side of the bird. Season the skin and the inside of the chicken with salt and pepper.
Drizzle some oil (about 2 tablespoons) on a baking dish large enough to hold the chicken (both glass and metal would work) and place the garlic and onions with cut sides down on the pan and drizzle generously with more olive oil.
In a medium bowl, combine the chickpeas, peppers, lemon zest, thyme and give them a generous coating with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. Use the mixture to stuff the cavity of the chicken (use your muscles!!!) and use the lemon to close the cavity and keep the stuffing in.
Place the stuffed chicken on the onions and garlic and coat it with a tablespoon of olive oil. Bake the chicken for about 15 to 20 minutes and then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and cook for about 1 hour (depends on the size of your chicken). Once the chicken is nicely golden and temperature measured with a meat thermometer reaches 175 degrees.