Chicken Levengi

Clean the chicken (1.2 kg), rinse and pat dry thoroughly. Rub it inside and out with 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper and 1 tbsp plum paste; leave for 15 minutes.

Finely chop the walnuts into small crumbs. Grind the onion in a meat grinder or blender, transfer to cheesecloth and squeeze out the bitter juice.

Break up the dried lavashana, pour over 30 ml hot water and stir into a soft, sour paste. If using ready-made sour plum paste, skip this step.

Combine the walnuts, squeezed onion, prepared lavashana or plum paste, melted butter, and the remaining salt and black pepper. The stuffing should be thick, sweet-and-sour and slightly bitter.

Fill the chicken with the stuffing, close the opening with the skin and place breast-side up in a baking dish. Brush the skin with the reserved plum paste.

Cover the dish with foil and roast in an oven preheated to 180°C for 45 minutes. Remove the foil, baste the chicken with the pan juices and roast for another 15–20 minutes until the skin is golden and the meat is fully cooked through.

Let the levengi rest for 10 minutes, then carve and serve hot together with the walnut stuffing.