This flavorful roasted chicken with rosemary and thyme, served with a simple salad, is adapted from Alice Waters (Chez Panisse) . Makes a great dinner party and is fun to cook with kids.
Ingredients
1 whole chicken, 4 pounds
1/2 tbsp minced fresh rosemary needles
1 sprig rosemary
1/2 tbsp minced fresh thyme leaves
1 sprig thyme
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 medium garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1 lemon
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
Mixed greens or arugula
dressing
medium shallot, minced
tbsp (30 ml) red wine vinegar
tsp fine sea salt
tsp freshly ground black pepper
cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F with a rack in the center. Remove giblets and pat chicken dry with paper towels. Set the chicken on a rack in a large roasting pan, breast side up.
Combine rosemary, thyme, garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil in a mortar, and smash it all into a paste with the pestle.
Rub the paste all over the chicken skin.
Stuff chicken with sliced lemon, rosemary sprig, thyme sprig, and whole garlic.
Roast the chicken for 20 minutes with the breast side up. Then flip it and cook 20 minutes more, breast side down. Turn it over again and cook for an additional 40 minutes, breast side up. Remove the chicken from the oven when the juices run clear and a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165° F.
While the chicken roasts, make the dressing. Whisk together the shallot, vinegar, salt, and pepper and let sit for a few minutes. Then whisk in the olive oil in a slow stream to emulsify.
When the chicken is cooked, let it rest on a cutting board, tented with foil, for 15 minutes.
