I don’t know what your eating habits are but in my house, there’s one thing that comes back week after week, sometimes even more than once a week. What do you think that is? CHICKEN! Yes. I admit it. At least once a week I’ll turn to that amazing bird and will serve it to my family. It’s delicious, somewhat healthy (we’re not vegetarians so it could be debatable), and it’s not too expensive. Simple grilled chicken is actually my favorite but I realized lately that I had to diversify the way I cooked the bird… when my 4 year old daughter started asking me what we were having for dinner and when she answered back: “not chicken A-G-A-I-N”!!! Ever since that day I try to be a little more creative with my chicken!
This special recipe really turned out amazing. It’s a family pleaser because it suits everybody’s taste and preference: my husband likes breast meat; my kids and I prefer brown meat. So a full chicken deserves a whole lot of love and attention and if you start mastering it, I don’t think your family members will ever complain about having chicken again. In my house, the complaining has stopped since I started making recipes like this one!
Thyme and rosemary roasted chicken Serves 4 | Preparation time: 10 minutes | Cooking time: 1h15 | Level: BIG KID
INGREDIENTS
1 organic chicken (about 4 pounds, 1.8 kg)
2 tbsp butter, cold
2 sweet onions, diced
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
3 thyme sprigs
2 rosemary sprigs
2 tbsp honey
Kosher salt
Pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
½ cup water
PREPARATION
Preheat your oven at 425˚F with the rack in the middle.
Work your fingers under the skin of the chicken’s breasts and thighs and legs, loosening it. Insert some pieces of butter under the skin.
Take the onions and stuff the inside of the chicken with a little less than half the quantity. Also stuff the inside of the chicken with the thyme and the rosemary. Put the rest of the onions at the bottom of a roasting pan along with the carrots. Poor the honey and the water on top of the vegetable and blend evenly. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables in the roasting pan. Spread the olive oil evenly on top of the chicken. Season with salt and pepper.
Roast the meat in the oven for about 75 minutes (until a meat thermometer inserted into the leg without touching the bone reaches 180˚F). Take out of the oven and cover with aluminum foil. Let rest for 10-15 minutes. Carve and serve with rice.
