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Whole roasted chicken with spiced butter and pomegranate roasted heirloom carrots
If you only have about an hour to spare over the busy holiday season, this simple chicken recipe can be very impressive . You will love how moist and tender my spiced butter, secretly hidden under the skin, makes your basic bird.
SERVES
4
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 free range chicken, about 4 pounds (1.8 kilograms )
- Salt and pepper
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Spiced butter
- ¼ cup soft unsalted butter
- Pinch ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground fennel
- Lemon zest
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 large handful fresh flatleaf parsley
- ¼ teaspoon chile flakes or Aleppo pepper
Carrots
- 1 pound heirloom carrots, peeled and left whole (450 grams)
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses or balsamic vinegar (5 millilitres)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a small bowl combine the soft butter, spices, lemon zest, garlic and parsley. Stir to blend.
- Season the chicken thoroughly inside the cavity with salt and pepper. Carefully run you fingers underneath the skin of the breast and gently separate the skin from the breast meat. Place the spiced butter in between the skin and meat with fingers and press skin down pushing butter as far down towards the bottom of the breast that it will reach breasts. Rub outside of of chicken with lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
- Transfer to a roasting pan that has enough room for carrots to roast alongside the chicken. Arrange the carrots around chicken and season with salt and pepper and pinch of cumin and pomegranate molasses.
- Roast at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 50 minutes to one hour, basting to evenly brown skin when needed. Thermometer inserted into the thickest part of leg should read 170 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure that chicken is thoroughly cooked. Let rest for 10 minutes before carving.
- Serve with a green salad.
