Ingredients

• 1 .5kg free-range chicken, boned out
• 2 tablespoons very finely chopped rosemary leaves
• 12 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 large slices prosciutto ham
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 lemon - zest and juice

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/390F/Gas 6.
2. Lay the chicken on a chopping board, skin-side down.
3. Remove the two mini-fillets of chicken breast and set aside..
4. Lay the slices of proscuitto over the chicken breast and stuff into the legs.
5. In a small bowl, mix the mascarpone with the rosemary and lemon zest and juice.
6. Place a spoonful of the mascarpone mixture onto both breasts and into the legs, reserving one spoonful.
7. Flatten the mini-fillets slightly using a rolling pin and place back on top of the mascarpone-covered breasts.
8. Fold the chicken over, tucking the legs back under and the skin around to tidy
9. Lightly tie some string around the bird, front and back, to hold it in shape. You should have skin on each side.
10. Heat an ovenproof frying pan and add half of the olive oil. Season the chicken with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and place skin-side down in the frying pan. Fry each side until the skin is golden-brown.
11. Place in the oven and roast for 18-25 minutes, until cooked through - test the chicken is cooked by piercing the meat with a skewer; if the juices run clear, the chicken is cooked.
12. Remove the chicken from the oven and drain any excess fat out of the pan. Place the chicken onto a plate and rest, covered with aluminium foil, for five minutes.
13. Add the final spoonful of the mascarpone mixture to the pan and whisk into  juices.
14. Remove string and carve the chicken.

Boning a chicken

1. To bone the chicken, place the chicken, breast side up, on a board. With a sharp boning knife, cut along the breastbone, then guide the knife, cutting between breast and carcass on one side, down to the leg joint. You have to cut the wishbone in half to divide the breast at its centre. Crack the leg bone at the joint away from the carcass so that it lies flat on the board. With the knife, carefully cut around the joint, separating the whole on one side from its carcass. Repeat this with the other side.
2. Snip the wing tips from the wings, leaving the bone in the short part of the wing. To remove the bones from the legs, flatten out your chicken half skin down. Using the leg bones as a guide, cut as close to them on either side as possible, and then insert the tip of the knife and prise up one bone, cutting as you do so. It is always difficult near the joint between thigh and drumstick, but you must try not to cut the skin which ultimately will hold your stuffing. Trim any flabby bits of skin and cut away any pieces of fat.