Roasted Chicken with Lemon-Parsley Gravy

There is something so comforting about a roasted chicken dinner. The wonderful anticipation in the air as you begin to smell the chicken, the garlic, and the aromatics infuse your home with these lovely, wintery scents. There's also something just implicitly wrong with eating a homemade roasted chicken in front of the television. A homemade roasted chicken calls for long, lingering dinner complete with conversation around a table with a lovely bottle of wine. I serve this chicken with steamed green beans and big chunks of whole grain baguette. To start, how bout a simple salad? Tonight, I served a salad with fresh tangerines, parsley, and a simple sherry vinaigrette. As for the rating for this recipe? Well, if you do not eat the skin and do not have the gravy, it's angelic. If you do indulge in the skin and the gravy, this recipe is a little more devilish--but really great to pull out after a tough week. This kind of dish just screams "I love you."

1 whole chicken, preferably organic
1 lemon
1 bulb garlic
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, rubbed in your hand to release oils, (or 1 Tablespoon fresh, finely chopped)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine

For Gravy:
1 Tablespoon flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon butter
1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
Lemon, to taste
Salt and pepper

1. Preheat overn to 400 degrees.

2. Rinse and dry bird with paper towel. Generously salt and pepper bird all over, including inside cavity. Put bird in roasting pan on a rack. Pour wine into the pan.

3. With the lemon whole, take off just the rind (not the white pith, which is bitter) of the whole lemon. Place in a small bowl with the thyme, the rosemary, and 1/4 cup(+) olive oil. Rub the whole bird with this olive oil mixture, inside and out.

4. Cut the top of the garlic bulb, horizontally, so that you have bisected the cloves of garlic. Place in the bird. Halve the lemon. Place on half in the bird as well. (If you'd like to add a fresh sprig of rosemary or a few sprigs of fresh thyme, also put these in the cavity).

5. Place the roasting pan (holding the bird) into the oven. Roast until a thermometer inserted into the deepest part of the bird in between the leg and the thigh, reads 170 degrees. Take the bird out and let it rest. (This is essential to the final carry-over cooking process as the bird will continue to cook for about 10 minutes due to the residual temperature inside....and also for the juices to redistribute throughout the meat. If you cut into it now, all the juices would run out and you would have a dry bird.)

6. Pour all the pan drippings into a gravy separator or clear bowl. Discard the fat (except for 1 Tablespoon), return the juices to the pan, and place the pan on the stove over medium-low heat. Sprinkle the flour over the fat, and stir. Let this mixture cook for a few minutes to ensure that any raw flour taste has been cooked out. Now, stir in the chicken stock and bring to a boil. (The mixture will not thicken until it reaches boiling temperature). Turn the heat down slightly and cook until it reaches the desired consistency for your gravy. (This should only take a couple minutes).

7. Strain again, into a small bowl, making sure to get rid of any solids. Stir in the butter, the parsley, and the lemon juice to taste. Adjust salt and pepper.

Serves 4.




Printable version here.