Roasted Chicken with Orange, Lemon and Ginger
Today I gave a private cooking lesson and one of the foods I taught was roasted chicken. A long time ago I read that if you know how to roast a chicken you can cook a delicious dinner anytime.
This was delicious. It had a refreshing ginger-citrus-honey coating and it came out glossy and dark-skinned and crispy. The pan juices were sweet and tangy all at the same time. There was enough liquid for the meat and also for the rice I made as an accompaniment (roasted asparagus with Balsamic vinegar too).
Here’s the recipe:
Roasted Chicken with Orange, Lemon and Ginger
1 roasting chicken, about 4-6 pounds
1 orange
1 lemon
1 large scallion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger
2 tablespoons softened margarine, or use coconut oil
2 tablespoons honey
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Rinse and dry the chicken; remove pinfeathers; remove the giblets. Grate the orange and lemon rinds into a bowl. Halve the fruit and squeeze the orange to extract the juice; add more if necessary to make the 1/2 cup. Squeeze the lemon to make the 2 tablespoons of juice. Mix the orange and lemon juices together and set aside. Place the fruit inside the cavity of the chicken. To the bowl of citrus peels, add the scallion, parsley, ginger, margarine and honey. Mix the ingredients until well blended. Rub onto all sides of the chicken. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the chicken breast side down on a rack in a roasting pan. Roast for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees. Roast another 15 minutes. Pour the reserved juices over the chicken and roast another 15 minutes. Turn chicken breast side up. Continue to roast, basting occasionally, for another 45-60 minutes or until fully cooked (a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast reads 160 degrees. Remove the chicken to a carving board and let rest for 15 minutes before carving. Serve with the pan juices. Makes 6 servings