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| Straight from the oven--and waiting to carve! |
Two of my favorite Rs? Roast
chicken—and Rosemary! Roast chicken
is one of those super-homey flavors that I crave when it’s coolish outside, and
rosemary, well, need I say more? What I like about a Sunday dinner of roast
chicken is that I can put it in the oven and pretty much leave it until it’s
done. (Luckily my home office is next to my kitchen—so I can always check on
it, and I can enjoy the gorgeous aromas that waft towards me during roasting
time.) Yesterday I served it with pasta topped with roasted eggplant-tomato and pepper sauce (will share soon!). I paired both with a kumquat and toasted pine nut, citrus
vinaigrette-topped leafy green salad (and a cool Pinot Grigio—that Dad
picked!). Accolades from the crowd!
Rosemary-Garlic Roast Chicken
Serves 8 to 10 with leftovers
Vegetable oil (for lightly greasing the pan)
2 all-natural (I
usually buy Murray’s) roasting chickens, about 6 pounds each (of course you can just cook one for a smaller crowd)
6 rosemary sprigs, plus sprigs for garnish (optional)
8 cloves of garlic, with skin on
2 to 3 shallots (or 1 to 2 red onions), peeled and
coarsely chopped
Coarse salt and freshly ground black (or mixed) pepper
Olive oil
Preheat the oven to 500°F. Lightly coat a roasting pan and
rack with vegetable oil.
Remove giblets and neck from the chickens. Rinse and pat them dry. Place the chickens on top of the greased pan rack (though you’ll see I didn’t use one here!) or simply into the greased roasting pan. Place them breast side up
in the pan (you can see that I put ‘em foot to head!).
Sprinkle the rosemary, garlic, and shallots on top. Season
with salt and pepper. Drizzle a bit of olive oil, and rub into the skin of
the chicken.
Bake at this heat for about 20 minutes, and then lower the
temperature to 375°F.
Roast until cooked, about 2 hours or until golden and a meat thermometer
inserted into thickest part of thigh (and not touching the bone) reads 165°F.
Let them stand for about10 minutes before carving. Garnish with additional rosemary
sprigs if desired, and serve. Store leftovers (excellent for arroz con pollo, sandwiches, and so much more!) in a sealed container in the fridge.
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