I have a special surprise this week: A series of posts devoted to one recipe and its leftovers. I’ve mentioned my lovely friend Liz in this space a few times. She is a culinary novice who has been teaching herself to cook using some of my recipes as well as lots of others she finds online. She even admitted to watching YouTube videos about how to do certain things, which I think is a brilliant idea! So, she asked me what her next challenge should be and I suggested roasting a chicken.
Roast chicken is super delicious and quite easy. It can seem like a daunting task but it’s actually a great thing to do because you can get multiple meals out of one chicken. So, without further ado….
Welcome to ROAST CHICKEN WEEK here at Gen Y Foodie!
This week I will be featuring this lovely chicken and some great recipe ideas for its leftovers! So keep an eye out for new posts on Wednesday and Friday featuring some healthy chicken goodness.
So, to start, I wanted to make a simple and delicious chicken that Liz and anyone else could easily replicate at home. You can start with a large roasting chicken, approximately 5-6 pounds. Whole Foods happened to be having a chicken sale this week, so I picked this bad boy up for only $1 per pound! Making this a very economical series of meals.
This particular preparation is really simple and flavorful. Rosemary, garlic and lemon are an aromatic and tasty combination. The one thing that’s really necessary for a roast chicken or any other roast is a digital meat thermometer. It’s the most effective way to safely and properly cook meat.
- 1 5-6lb roasting chicken, innards removed and rinsed
- 2 lemons, 1 juiced and 1 cut into chunks
- 6 sprigs of fresh rosemary, washed
- 6 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
- optional: 2 yellow onions, sliced
Rub the paste over the entire chicken and then stuff leftover garlic, rosemary and lemon in the cavity
- Preheat oven to 425.
- Rise and pat chicken dry, position in a glass roasting pan and allow it to sit until it reaches room temperature. Approximately 20 minutes
- In a food processor, combine lemon juice, olive oil, 4 garlic cloves and the leaves from 4 sprigs of rosemary
- Puree until a paste forms
- Rub the entire skin of the chicken with the paste, making sure to thoroughly cover everything
- Season the chicken liberally with salt and pepper
- In the cavity, stuff 2 garlic cloves, 2 rosemary sprigs, and some lemon wedges
- Optional: spread sliced onions and extra lemon wedges around the body of the chicken in the pan (see photos)
- Roast the chicken for approximately an hour, until the juices run clear
- Digital thermometers work best: chicken is cooked when the breast meat reads 180 degrees Farenheit
- Allow the chicken to rest for at least 15-20 minutes and then carve
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gorgeous!! i love roasted chicken, and the aromatics you used are wonderful! I’d love some of this and a glass of wine for dinner!
This is going to be a great week! This roast chicken looks delicious and love the lemon rosemary flavors. Can’t wait to see what you do with the leftovers!!
Wow, this looks perfectly roasted…and so, so yummy! Looking forward to your recipes for leftovers…we just eat sliced chicken till it’s gone. I need some inspiration!!!!
Cripes someone hand me a fork and knife…stat!