This is an easy meal that takes fifteen minutes to prepare and about an hour to cook in the oven, "set it, and forget it!", ( I love that infomercial). Just make sure you remove the chicken from the freezer and set it out to defrost in the morning or defrost it in the microwave in the evening. And as always, when working with chicken beware of your counter top surfaces and always, always, always, wash your hands with soap and water after handling the chicken.
After a nine and a half hour day today I have to say I wasn't too inspired to spend an hour or so slaving away in the kitchen, this easy and delicious roast was my salvation.
Serves 4
First, start off by lightly greasing a 13 x 9 inch Pyrex dish.
Set aside.
Next, peel 5 -6 small russet potatoes (or 3-4 large cut into sixths). Then cut up into fourths.
Place in a mixing bowl and add 2 tablespoons of salt.
Add in 1/2 a teaspoon of freshly ground pepper.
( Ugh!..I really need a manicure)
Add in 1 sprig of rosemary (remove the leaves from the stem) & 1/2 a teaspoon of crushed red pepper.
Soften (not melt) one stick of butter or margarine.
Add the softened butter mixture into the potato and spice mixture.
Mix well with a spoon, and coat potatoes well with spices and butter.
Set aside.
You will need a fully defrosted young frying chicken.
Grab the chicken and pull out the innards from the cavity (as shown above).
I just realized how gross that sentence actually sounds, gross but necessary and the deliciousness of the chicken will make it all better.
Wash your chicken thoroughly and place inside of your baking dish.
Rub the chicken with the following spices, 1 tablespoon of black pepper, 1 teaspoon of dried parsley leaves (or fresh, fresh is always better, more flavor), 1 teaspoon of cumin powder, 1 tablespoon of salt, and 3 heaping tablespoons of cayenne pepper. Using your hands rub this mixture all over the chicken.
Flip the chicken over and repeat the process on the opposite side. The amount of your spices will vary according to chicken weight and size.
Add on 1 1/2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to one side of the chicken.
Spread the oil on the chicken with your hands, repeat on opposite side.
Using your hands, grab the wings and tuck under the chicken.
Your chicken should look something like this.
Next, stuff the cavity with one sprig of rosemary...
and three to four cloves of whole peeled garlic.
If you would like to tress your chicken, now is the time.
Next add in 1/2 a cup of chicken stock into the baking dish.
Arrange the potato mixture around the chicken in the broth.
It should look something like this.
The butter mixture may have hardened a bit, place any hardened pieces on top of the potatoes.
Bake at 350 degrees for approximately one hour.
Remove from oven when chicken has browned and when a knife is inserted juices that protrude are clear.
You can also use a meat thermometer, so much easier :)
No comments:
Post a Comment