Monday, February 21, 2011

Delicious Fennel & Ginger Roast Chicken

This roast chicken was one of the best I have made in a long time.

It is a recipe from Claire Robinson. I found it in her new book, 5 Ingredient Fix, which is very beautiful and filled with "Easy Elegant and Irresistible Recipes."



Ingredients
1 organic roasting chicken (about 4 pounds)
One 6-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
zest of 1 lemon, juice of ½ lemon, and slices of ½ lemon for garnish
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
2 whole fennel bulbs, with fronds
Directions
Remove the chicken from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Cut off a 1-inch piece of ginger, grate it on a microplane, and transfer it to a bowl with 4 tablespoons butter. Add the lemon zest. Halve the lemon and squeeze the juice from one half into the butter; slice the other half and reserve. Season the butter with salt and pepper and mix well.
Put the chicken in the roasting pan on a rack. Loosen the skin of the chicken with your fingers under breast and down the thighs. Stuff the ginger-lemon butter under the skin and, using your fingers, spread the paste evenly over the breast meat and thighs. Rub the exterior of the chicken with the remaining butter and season generously with salt and pepper. Remove the fronds from the fennel and reserve; trim the stalks from the bulbs and stuff them into the cavity of the chicken. Cut the fennel bulbs into ¼-inch wedges and reserve. Using kitchen twine, tie the chicken legs to enclose the cavity.
Roast the chicken 20 minutes; remove the pan from the oven and reduce the heat to 375 degrees F. Slice the remaining ginger into chunks and add to the roasting pan along with the fennel wedges and lemon slices. Pour in 1 cup water and return the pan to the oven and continue roasting until internal temperature registers 170 degrees F, or until the juices run clear when the chicken is pierced with a fork, about 1 ½ hours more.
To serve, scatter the roasted fennel and lemon slices around a serving platter, rest the roasted chicken on top of the vegetables, and garnish with the reserved fennel fronds.

My dish:


I also roasted some Brussels Sprouts and Carrots, cooked a wild rice mixture, and Susan made cranberry mango sauce.



YUM!

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3 comments:

  1. This looks/sounds wonderful! It's been a while since I've roasted a chicken. Time to do so.

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  2. I have just recently discovered fennel! Grew it in my organic garden last year and intend to do more this season. What a perfect recipe for this shy little vegetable!

    Ginny

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