Don't let the garlic in this dish scare you off. Once it is roasted it becomes sweet and creamy and not at all pungent.
This makes a fairly easy dinner recipe. It only takes a few minutes to prep. Then it takes about an hour and a half in the oven, depending on the size of your chicken.
In general terms chicken should bake 20 minutes per pound and add 15 minutes. When chicken reaches 165 F on a meat thermometer remove it from the oven. Cover loosely with foil and allow the juices to redistribute. The chicken will continue to cook while resting.
This Lemon Garlic sauce is really good with asparagus and also with broccoli. I serve this chicken with rice and asparagus with some fresh lemon for squeezing over the plated chicken. The rice is a great way to capture all the lemon-y goodness of the sauce. You can make my Perfect Rice to go with this. You will need to reposition your oven racks to fit the chicken roast pan and the rice baking dish. But it sure is easy to bake both the chicken and the rice in the oven. Just put the rice in the oven about 30 minutes after the chicken.
You need to be careful when you cook asparagus to clean the stalks well. Some people peel the stalks but I never have. Rinse them or soak them well to make sure there is no sand trapped in the little scales or the tip. Hold the stalk about mid way down the trunk and at the very base of the stalk. Bend the base and the stalk will break off naturally where the stalk turns from veggie to woody.
I like to just drizzle them with a bit of olive oil and put them in a single layer in a skillet. Cook them for about 6- 8 minutes over medium/high heat turning them often. Finish them with a sprinkle of sea salt and you're done!
Asparagus is notoriously difficult to pair wine with. I think you either love or hate asparagus- nothing in-between! A nicely chilled Sauvignon Blanc would be a great choice. You want something with a fairly high acidity to balance with the lemon juices and cut through the creaminess of the gravy. Sauvignon Blanc that has herbal notes would pair well with the asparagus too. Having said that any crisp, lively white would work here. You could also consider an unoaked Chardonnay, a Muscadet Sevre et Maine or a Vinho Verde.
Roasted Garlic and Lemon Chicken
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Save Print Pin FacebookIngredients
- 1 4-5 lb roasting chicken
- salt and pepper for seasoning
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 6 strips bacon
- 4 lemons
- 3 heads garlic sliced in half, cross-ways
- 2 Tbsps melted butter
- ½ cup white wine
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tsps cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Rinse the chicken and salt and pepper the inside. Stuff the cavity with thyme sprigs and 1 lemon halved and 1 head of garlic halved. Transfer to baking dish.
- Brush the outside of the chicken with melted butter. Lay the bacon slices over the chicken.
- Quarter the remaining lemons and scatter lemons and remaining garlic around the chicken in the baking dish.
- Bake 20 minutes per pound and add 15 minutes. When chicken reaches 165 F on a meat thermometer remove it from the oven. Transfer to a platter and cover loosely with foil to allow the juices to redistribute. Chicken will continue to cook while resting.
- Prepare the gravy while the chicken is tented.
- Skim off as much fat as you can from the baking dish. Discard the lemons. Carefully squeeze the roasted garlic out of the skins. Discard the skins. Transfer to a blender. Add the wine, lemon juice, egg yolks and corn starch and blend.
- Transfer to a sauce pan and heat through.
- Serve chicken with gravy and lemon slices.
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