AKA Jeffrey’s Roast Chicken.
Apparently we’ve been on a chicken kick lately! But all of these recipes serve different purposes, and really, you can never have enough chicken recipes! Here’s our latest obsession from our favorite Ina Garten:
There aren’t many recipes that are this easy and yield so much flavor like this roast chicken. Ina definitely knows how to take simple ingredients and add that wow factor! This chicken was moist and juicy, with just the right amount of aromatics to make bring the flavor of this chicken to the next level. Next time you’re having company, impress them with this roasted chicken. You won’t be sorry.
The recipe says it serves three. I’ve never met three people who can eat an entire chicken, but I’ve also never only served a chicken for a Friday night. Usually that’s one of four main dishes. Maybe one weeknight I’ll make an entire chicken for dinner and see how much we actually eat. I made this for Shabbat dinner and ate the leftovers for lunch the next day. I didn’t have much chicken leftover after that.
Jeffrey’s Roast Chicken, adapted from Ina Garten’s How Easy is That?:
Ingredients:
- 1 4-5 pound roasting chicken
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 lemons
- 1 whole head garlic, cut in half crosswise
- 3 sprigs thyme
- Good olive oil
- 2 Spanish onions, peeled and thickly sliced
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup chicken stock (I make my own)
- 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 2 Idaho potatoes, scrubbed and diced (optional)
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Salt and pepper the inside of the chicken (remember that kosher chicken is already salted, so don’t go too overboard on the salt).
3. Cut the lemons in quarters and place two quarters in the cavity of the chicken.
4. Place the garlic and thyme in the cavity, too.
5. Brush the outside of the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
6. Tie the legs together and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.
7. Place the chicken in a SMALL roasting pan (when I don’t use potatoes I use my Le Creuset. When I do, I actually use a 9×13 Pyrex. I don’t have a roasting pan!).
8. Combine the rest of the lemons and onion slices and toss with olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add to roasting pan.
9. Roast the chicken for an hour and 15 minutes, until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh (or you can use a thermometer, but this method actually works really well).
10. Remove the chicken to a platter and cover with foil to rest, leaving the onions and lemons in the pan (or, if using something that’s not stove-proof, move it to a large pan to make the sauce).
11. Place the pan over medium-high heat and add the wine. Stir up the brown bits. Add the stock and sprinkle on the flour, stirring constantly for a minute, until the sauce thickens. Add the juices that dripped from the chicken to the sauce.
12. Carve the chicken and spoon the sauce with the onions and lemons (and potatoes) over it. I didn’t eat the lemons. Try it if you’re brave. Serve hot or warm. Mmmm….
