Roast Chicken And Carrots With Olives And Lemon Recipes

LEMON ROASTED CHICKEN WITH CARROTS AND POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Remove giblets from cavity of chicken. Wash chicken thoroughly in cold water, both inside and out. Remove any loose bits of fat. Pat dry thoroughly with paper towels. Sprinkle a generous amount of salt and black pepper on the chicken, rubbing it with your fingers over all its body and into its cavity.
• Wash the lemons in cold water and dry them with a towel. Soften each lemon by placing it on a counter and rolling it back and forth as you put firm downward pressure on it with the palm of your hand. Puncture the lemons in at least 20 places each, using a sturdy round toothpick, a trussing needle, a sharp-pointed fork, or similar implement.
• Place both lemons in the bird's cavity. Close up the opening with toothpicks or with trussing needle and string; do not seal it completely airtight, or the bird may explode. Run kitchen string from one leg to the other, tying it at both knuckle ends. Leave the legs in their natural position without pulling them tight. If the skin is unbroken, the chicken will puff up as it cooks, and the string serves only to keep the thighs from spreading apart and splitting the skin.
• Put the chicken into a roasting pan, breast facing down. Arrange the carrots and potatoes around it. Place the pan in the upper third of the preheated oven. After 30 minutes, stir the carrots and potatoes and turn the chicken over to have the breast face up. When turning it, try not to puncture the skin. If kept intact, the chicken will swell like a balloon, which makes for an arresting presentation at the table later. Do not worry too much about it, however, because even if it fails to swell, the flavor will not be affected.
• Cook for 30 to 35 minutes more, then turn the oven up to 400°F Stir the potatoes and carrots again, ensuring they are covered with the chicken juice, and cook for 20 minutes more. (Total cooking time should be 20 to 25 minutes per pound.).
• Whether your bird has puffed up or not, bring it to the table whole and leave the lemons inside until it is carved and opened. The juices that run out are perfectly delicious. Be sure to spoon them over the chicken slices. The lemons will have shriveled up, but they still contain some juice; if you squeeze them, they may squirt.

BRAISE-ROASTED CHICKEN WITH LEMON AND CARROTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Cut backbone from chicken using kitchen shears and save backbone for another use. Flip chicken, breast-side up, and forcefully press chicken down to flatten; season generously with salt.
• Heat olive oil in a large oven-safe cast iron skillet over medium-high heat; pan-fry chicken, skin-side down, until golden, 6 to 7 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate, skin-side up.
• Cook and stir onion in oil in the same skillet until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add beer, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Continue cooking until most of the beer is reduced, 2 to 4 minutes more. Stir chicken broth, carrots, lemon, rosemary, and thyme into beer mixture. Arrange chicken, skin-side up, over vegetables.
• Roast in the preheated oven until chicken is golden brown and crispy, about 50 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Transfer chicken and vegetables to a large platter and let rest, uncovered.
• Bring remaining broth and juices in the skillet to a boil and cook until sauce is thickened, about 10 minutes. Season sauce with salt.
• Slice chicken and serve with sauce.

OLIVE OIL-ROASTED CHICKEN WITH CARAMELIZED CARROTS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Season chicken with salt and pepper.
• If the carrots have their green tops, trim them so that the stems are about 1/2- to 1-inch long. Save the greens for garnish or for using in salsa verde or pesto. (They can be treated like parsley.)
• Arrange chicken in a large shallow baking dish or shallow braising pot - about 2 1/2 to 3 quarts - so that the legs are snug and lying flat. Scatter garlic head halves, carrots, lemon slices and oregano sprigs among the chicken pieces, nestling everything in there. (It's O.K. if the carrots stick out a bit.) Pour the olive oil over the chicken and vegetables. (Yes, you're using all that oil! Don't worry, it can be repurposed; see Tip.) Season again with salt and pepper.
• Place in the oven, uncovered, and roast until the chicken is so tender it nearly falls off the bone and the carrots and lemons are nicely caramelized, 55 to 65 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Divide chicken, vegetables and lemons among plates (or serve straight from the dish it was cooked in). Scatter with carrot tops, if you have them, and more oregano before eating. Reserve the leftover schmaltzy olive oil in the baking dish for another purpose.

CHICKEN WITH CARROTS AND OLIVES

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat 2 T. of olive oil, over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Add the chicken to the heated skillet, in a single layer. Cook chicken, turning once, until it is browned but not fully cooked through. This should take about 4-5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate, trying to leave as much oil in the skillet as possible.
• Add the lemon to the skillet in a single layer. Cook them, turning once, until browned on both sides - about 2 minutes. Add the remaining 2 T. olive oil, the carrots and garlic and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until carrots are just slightly soft - this should take about 2 minutes. Add the water and cook until carrots are crisp tender and the liquid has evaporated - this should take about 2 minutes. Stir in the cumin, paprika and cinnamon and cook for about 1 minute more.
• Return chicken to the skillet, and any accumulated juices. Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. Add the chicken stock, olives and seson with salt and pepper. Simmer over medium heat until the chicken is cooked through - this should take about 5 minutes.
• Transfer the chicken to a serving bowl and sprinkle with almonds.
• Serve with couscous.

ROAST CHICKEN WITH CARROTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Zest the lemon and set zest aside. Cut the zested lemon into 6 wedges, and place inside the chicken cavity along with 4 sprigs of thyme.
• Mince garlic, and mix with 1 tsp kosher salt. Remove leaves from 6 stems of thyme, and mix with the garlic, along with the lemon zest. Using your fingers or the end of a wooden spoon, separate the chicken skin from the breasts, starting at the neck. Using fingers, insert paste under the skin, working it across the breast.
• Rub the whole chicken with butter (or olive oil). Sprinkle all sides with remaining salt and pepper. Place a roasting rack in your roasting pan, and scatter onions and carrots around the edges. Place chicken breast-side-down in roasting pan.
• Roast chicken in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Rotate bird on its side, and roast another 20 minutes. Rotate bird to the opposite side and roast for 20 more minutes. Place chicken breast-side-up for the remaining 30 to 40 minutes. When juices run clear when cut into between the leg and thigh, the bird is done. (Total cooking time will be 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 40 minutes.) Remove from oven and tent with foil; let rest for 10 minutes. Skim fat off pan juices and set aside.
• Plate chicken with carrots and onions scattered around, pour juices over chicken and veggies, and serve.