When I reminisce about my early childhood, there are certain foods that I can remember eating so often that I could happily go without ever eating them again. Namely, macaroni and cheese, meatloaf, and at one point, whole roasted chicken.
Have you ever cooked a whole chicken before? Until last week, Justin and I hadn’t. I don’t think I will ever give boxed mac-n-cheese another chance and I know I won’t be makin’ no meatloaf. But we did go ahead and try Martha Stewart’s recipe using a whole chicken…and we loved it. I am sure of course that it had a lot to do with the amazing sauce that was spread all over it (I’m a sauce girl after all) but roasting a whole chicken was not only easy, but cheap! We bought our organic, free range buddy here for only 5 bucks. I was shocked. This recipe was so unbelievably delicious and who doesn’t love a ‘one pot’ meal??
Lemon, Parsley, and Parmesan Over Chicken and Potatoes
Yield 4 servings
Ingredients
For the Chicken and Potatoes
- 1 whole organic chicken (about 3 1/2 pounds)
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1 lemon, halved
- 1 pound fingerling potatoes, halved or cut into thirds if they're large
For the Sauce
- 2 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 lemon, zested {2 teaspoons} and juiced {1 1/2 tablespoons}
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- pinch red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Place the chicken, breast side up, on a baking sheet. Rub it with 2 tablespoons of oil; season it generously with salt and pepper. Place the parsley and 1 half of the lemon inside the cavity (such a nice way to say “stuff the chicken”). Tie the legs together with kitchen twine.
- Toss the potatoes with 2 tablespoons of oil. Drizzle them with the juice from the remaining lemon half. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper and scatter the potatoes along the chicken.
- Roast all of it for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 375 degrees; cook for 25 minutes. Rotate the pan, toss the potatoes, and cook until the potatoes and chicken are golden brown and a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken’s thigh reaches 165 degrees, about 25 minutes more. Let the chicken and potatoes stand for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the sauce: Combine all of the sauce ingredients. After 10 minutes, brush the sauce on the chicken and drizzle on the potatoes.