Chicken...Roasted All The Way to Yum!

Everyone I know associates a roast chicken with childhood family dinners. I used to think roasting a chicken was huge production, probably because when I was a kid every bird seemed to be accompanied by endless side dishes. Then I went to Italy and got a crash course in roasting. I didn’t have much of a choice: The signora of the house dropped a plucked duck in my lap. I barely spoke the mother-tongue, so it was pretty clear I was going to have to rely on my own wits. I got over my stage fright and figured out the tricks: a hot oven, some lemon juice, salt, and a few aromatics. It worked with the duck. It works with a chicken. And it’s not a huge production.

Ingredients

1 (4½-to 5-pound) organic chicken, rinsed and thoroughly dried
1½ teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 lemons
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, or ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
2 sprigs fresh thyme, or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
2 fresh sage leaves

Preheat the oven to 450° F

Be sure that your chicken is thoroughly dry.

Rub the chicken cavity with ½ teaspoon of the salt. Combine the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, the pepper, and olive oil and rub the mixture into the skin of the chicken. Cut the lemons in half and squeeze their juice over the chicken. Put the lemon rinds, rosemary, thyme, and sage into the chicken cavity.

Place the chicken on a roasting rack in a glass or ceramic dish breast side down (that’s legs and butt up!)

Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, turn the chicken breast side up, and roast another 20 to 30 minutes. Each side should be crisp and brown. You’re cooking at a very high heat, so watch the timing carefully.

Decrease the heat to 350° F and continue roasting for 20 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reads 170° F when inserted in the thigh or until the juices run clear.

Serves 4 to 6

© 2004. Reprinted from “One Bite at a Time – Nourishing Recipes for Cancer Survivors and Their Friends” with permission from Celestial Arts.