Wow. I think this might have been the best meal of my entire life. Seriously, it is so yummy. These pictures don't do it justice at all. I thought the other roasted chicken recipe was pretty fabulous, but I think this beats it. Not only is the taste out of this world but the smell is so amazing, don't be surprised if your neighbors invite themselves to dinner...
Lemon Roast Chicken with Bacon and Red Potatoes
1 whole chicken
4-5 lemons
3-4 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon Sea salt
1 teaspoon Pepper
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme (you can also use dried italian seasoning if you don't have any fresh herbs)
3-4 slices of uncooked bacon (the least processed kind you can find, nitrate free of course!)
4-5 Red potatoes washed and chopped, tossed with olive oil or butter, salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Slice one lemon in half and the other lemons into thin slices. Peel the cloves of garlic and slice in half lengthwise. In a small bowl, mix together salt, pepper and thyme (or italian seasoning).
Layer half of the lemon slices on the bottom of your roasting pan. Wash chicken, pat dry and place breast down on top of the lemon slices. Rub with melted butter inside and out. Squeeze the ends of lemon over the top of the chicken. Rub with seasonings inside and out. Fill cavity of chicken with two of the garlic cloves (cut in half) and both halves of one lemon.
Put all lemon slices and ends around chicken (for added lemon flavor, place slices on top of chicken). Cover the top of the chicken with bacon slices.
Toss chopped red potatoes with olive oil or butter, salt and pepper and arrange around chicken. If you choose not to cook potatoes (which you really should- the bacon drippings mix with the olive oil and make perfectly browned and delicious potatoes), I recommend putting 1/4 to 1/2 cup water in the bottom of the pan to keep the chicken most.
Bake for 1 1/2 hours or until chicken is no longer pink.
Remove bacon strips, chop and mix in with potatoes (or just eat plain- it will be the best bacon you've ever had- the chicken flavors soak in and make it seriously amazing). Remove the lemon halves from the chicken cavity and squeeze over chicken slices before serving. Save a bit of lemon juice to squeeze over asparagus.
Roasted Asparagus
1 bunch of asparagus
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Dash of lemon juice
Preheat oven to 400 degrees (or place in oven next to chicken during last 20 minutes of baking).
Wash asparagus and prepare each stalk by bending it until it snaps. Discard the bottom half and place the top half on baking sheet.
Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Roast for 20-25 minutes or until tender but still crisp. Squeeze with a dash of lemon juice.
And, in case you missed my previous post on making chicken stock with the leftover chicken- click here, it can stretch one meal into 3 or 4.
And, in case you missed my previous post on making chicken stock with the leftover chicken- click here, it can stretch one meal into 3 or 4.
