Tag: organic chicken
Roasted Pesto Chicken with Potatoes and Cauliflower
- 4 full chicken legs (skin off)
- 1 pound small yellow potatoes (skin off)
- 2 cups cauliflower florets
- ½ cup fresh or store bought pesto
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
Preheat a 350 degrees F.
Line a large baking pan with aluminum foil.
Place the cauliflower florets and potatoes to the bottom of the pan. Add half of the pesto, salt, pepper and one tablespoon of the olive oil. Mix well with your fingers. Place the chicken pieces on top of the vegetables. Add the rest of the pesto and olive oil. Rub all over the chicken. Add salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for an hour. Change the setting to high broil and brown for 5 to 10 minutes till the chicken and the potatoes turn golden brown. Serve with crusty bread.
Roast Chicken with Orange and Meyer Lemon
Chicken is one of the most popular proteins. There are tons of recipes in books, magazines and on the internet- but people are still always looking for new recipes to make their weeknight meals a bit more exciting.
One of the more classic ways of making chicken is roasting a whole bird. A lot of people are a bit intimidated to make this dish.
It is one of my favorite ways to eat chicken. I love how my house smells as the bird is roasting in the oven. I also love how I can create a one pot meal by adding tons of vegetables to the bottom of the roasting pan.
For this particular one, I used a lot of winter ingredients in season. I made a compound butter consisting of orange and meyer lemon zest. I filled the bottom of the pan with carrots and fennel.
The chicken was delicious….
- One 4 to 5 pound whole chicken
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Zest of 2 Clementine or 1 Navel orange (save the oranges)
- Zest of 1 Meyer lemon (save the lemon)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- Salt
- Pepper
Mix the butter, olive oil, zests, salt and pepper in a small bowl. In the meantime, place the chicken in a roasting pan on a roasting rack. Spread the butter mixture on top and under the skin. Sprinkle with more salt and pepper inside the cavity as well as outside.
- 2 cups chicken broth
- Juice of the spare oranges and Meyer lemon
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Pour the chicken broth at the bottom of the roasting pan. Add the orange and lemon juice. Place the juiced oranges and lemon into the cavity. Tie the chicken legs together and tuck the wings in.
- 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 pound fennel, trimmed and sliced
Place the vegetables at the bottom of the roasting pan. Roast the chicken until the dark meat registers 160 degrees F. Take the chicken out and cover with aluminum foil. Take the vegetables out keep warm. Reduce the liquid by half and pour into a gravy boat. Take out excess fat and serve with the chicken and vegetables.
Julia Child’s Coq Au Vin- My Version
My take on Julia Child’s classic… try it…
- 2-3 pound whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces and skin removed
- Salt
- Pepper
- 1/3 cup bacon, cut into a small dice
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 (10 oz) packs of cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, sliced thin
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ¼ cup cognac
- 2 cups red wine (pinot noir, zinfandel- any light red wine)
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
Heat a large Dutch oven with one tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. Add the bacon bits and sauté on medium heat till the bits are golden brown. Take the bacon out and keep aside. Add the chicken pieces in two batches and brown on both side, sprinkling salt and pepper. Take the chicken pieces out and keep aside.
Reheat the pan and add one tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. Add the mushrooms and sauté on high heat till they are golden brown- about 7 to 8 minutes. Take the mushrooms out and keep aside. Add the onions and garlic. Saute on medium high heat till the onions are soft and translucent- about 3-4 minutes. Add the fresh thyme and tomato paste. Saute for a minute and add the cognac. Scrape all the bits off the bottom and mix for 30 seconds and add the red wine and the chicken broth. Bring to a boil on high heat and add the chicken pieces. Bring back to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer and cover with lid. Take out the two breast pieces after about 20 minutes and keep aside. Continue to cook the rest for another 30 minutes. Take out the chicken pieces with the breast pieces. Bring the sauce to a boil and reduce to about 2½ cups. In the meantime add the flour and oil to a small bowl. Mix well and add to the simmering sauce, whisking it in to avoid lumps. Bring to a boil. Taste for seasonings and add salt if needed. Add the mushrooms and chicken pieces. Top with the bacon bits and chopped parsley.
Serve on top of toasted baguette slices rubbed with fresh garlic. Serve with the same red wine you used for the sauce.