Cook pasta until three-quarters done then drain.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a large bowl combine scallions, nuts, herbs, tomatoes, diced
bacon,
salt and pepper with the pasta.
Using half the butter, grease the inside of the chicken, and fill
it with
the pasta stuffing. Place a slice of bread inside the opening
to keep the
stuffing in, and truss the bird. (If using Cornish hens, divide
the
ingredients between them.)
Rub the chicken over with the remaining butter and place it on
its side on
a rack in a baking dish. Sprinkle the body with a little ground
black
pepper and cover it with the extra bacon slices. Roast for 20
minutes.
Turn the bird over onto its other side, sprinkle over a little
more ground
black pepper, cover with the bacon and put back into the oven
for a
further 20 minutes.
Remove bacon, turn the bird onto its back and roast again, basting
often
with the juices in the dish. After 20 minutes test to see if the
chicken
is cooked. If a skewer pushed into the thick flesh of a thigh
produces
liquid with a red tinge, roast the bird another 5 minutes and
test again.
When the juices come clear the chicken is done. Rest it for a
couple of
minutes in a warm place before carving.
Author's note: This chicken is excellent served cold on a picnic.
The flesh remains moist and succulent and the stuffing becomes a side
salad.
The bacon which didn't burn during the roasting can be crumbled
and used in other dishes, e.g. tossed through a green salad or used as
flavoring in a pasta sauce.
Recipe from "The New Pasta Cookbook"