Whole Roast Chicken With Tarragon And Lemon Food

LEMON-TARRAGON ROAST CHICKEN WITH VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rub chicken inside and out with one garlic half. Place both garlic halves and the tarragon sprigs in cavity. Stir together butter, shallot, chopped tarragon. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Loosen skin of chicken near cavity with hands; spread butter mixture under skin all over flesh.
• Squeeze juice from lemon halves over chicken; place in cavity. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
• Halve the large onions horizontally at an angle. Arrange in the middle of a 9-by-13-inch roasting pan to form a square. Position halves so that the slanted ends of each pair face each other, inward, and almost touch. Place chicken, breast side up, on onion "rack."
• Quarter the small onions; arrange with carrots, celery, and potatoes around bird. Tuck lemon slices between wings and breast, and legs and breast. Pour wine and stock over vegetables.
• Roast chicken and vegetables, basting 2 or 3 times with pan juices, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken thigh registers 165 degrees and juices run clear, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Remove pan from oven, and let chicken stand 10 minutes. Carve chicken. Arrange chicken and roasted vegetables (including rack onions) on a platter. Spoon pan juices over meat.

WHOLE ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.
• Arrange the pearl onions and carrots in the bottom of a roasting pan. Drizzle with the wine. Set a roasting rack in the center of the pan on top of the vegetables and brush with the oil so that the chicken doesn't stick.
• Place the chicken, breast-side up, on the rack. Sprinkle the chicken all over with salt and pepper. Put the pan in the center of the oven and roast until the juices run clear or an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (avoiding bone) registers 165 degrees F. (I calculate cooking about 15 minutes per pound of bird, so for a 4-pound bird I check the juices and temperature after 1 hour of cooking.)
• Remove the chicken from the oven and allow it to rest in the pan for at least 10 minutes or up to 20.
• Transfer the chicken to a cutting board, gently placing it breast-side down so the juices can flow through the breast meat as it rests for an additional 10 to 15 minutes.
• Place the roasting pan with the vegetables on a burner on the stove and add the chicken stock and mustard. Simmer gently, scraping any bits of chicken fat and skin from the bottom. Let the sauce simmer a little with the vegetables, 2 to 3 minutes. Add half the butter and cook, about 1 minute. Remove the vegetables from the pan to a plate. Add the lemon juice, half the tarragon and 1 more tablespoon butter. Allow the butter to melt, then remove the gravy to a serving bowl.
• Turn the chicken breast-side up on a cutting board and carve. (The cut side will need some seasoning.) Rub the remaining butter onto the carved chicken breast meat and season with salt. Sprinkle with the remaining tarragon. Serve the chicken with the sauce and vegetables on the side.

LEMON AND TARRAGON ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7.
• Mix the butter, tarragon, lemon zest, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl. Using your hands, carefully separate the chicken skin from the breast meat, taking care not to break the skin, and smear the butter mixture under the skin all over the chicken breast. Slice the zested lemon and carefully arrange the slices under the skin.
• Transfer the chicken to a large roasting tin and season well with salt and pepper - all over and inside the cavity.
• Roast the chicken for 20-25 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5 and roast for a further 1 hour and 20 minutes, basting frequently, until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is crisp and golden. It is cooked when the juices run clear with no trace of pink when a skewer is inserted into the thickest part of the leg. Transfer the chicken to a board to rest, leaving the meat juices in the roasting tin.
• While the chicken is in the oven, make the stuffing. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and fry the onion and garlic for 4-5 minutes until softened. Add the chestnuts, apricots and sage, and season with salt and pepper. Leave to cool.
• Once cool, transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add the sausagemeat, fresh breadcrumbs and egg and mix well to combine. Divide the mixture into 16 and roll into small balls. Roll each stuffing ball in the fine breadcrumbs until evenly coated. Put the stuffing balls in a greased baking tray and bake at 200C/180C/Gas 6 for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and cooked through, turning once halfway through cooking.
• While the chicken is resting, make the gravy: place the roasting tin over a low heat. Add the flour and whisk until combined with the roasting juices. Gradually pour in the wine, whisking constantly, and allow to bubble for a few minutes. Add the stock and cook for a further 6-8 minutes, whisking until thickened. Whisk in the gravy granules and redcurrant jelly and season to taste. Continue to simmer until the gravy is the consistency you like. Strain through a sieve into a serving jug.
• Carve the chicken and serve with the hot gravy and stuffing balls.

TARRAGON AND LEMON ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat a heavy ovenproof pot or Dutch oven on a stovetop over high heat. Score the chicken skin at regular intervals, drizzle with the oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Add to the pot and cook for 6-8 minutes on each side or until well browned. Remove from the pot and set aside. Add the tarragon, lemon zest, garlic and fennel to the pot and cook for 2-3 minutes or until golden. Return the chicken to the pot with the wine and stock and bring to a simmer.
• Transfer to the oven and roast for 20-25 minutes or until the chicken is just cooked through. Serve with the lemon wedges.

TARRAGON CHICKEN WITH LEMON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Heat a medium-large skillet over high heat. Add the olive oil. Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper, and lay the pieces in the pan rounded-side down first (the side that had the skin). Cook the chicken, turning only once, until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to an oven-proof dish, reserving the skillet. Place the chicken to the oven and bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken registers 170 to 75 degrees F, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, pour the vermouth into the reserved skillet, scraping up any browned bits that cling to the pan with a wooden spoon, and cook over medium heat until the liquid reduces by about half. Add the chicken broth and continue to cook until slightly thickened.
• In a small bowl whisk a teaspoon or so of cold water with the cornstarch, then whisk the mixture into the broth and bring to a full boil. Remove from heat and add the zest, lemon juice, and tarragon. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Remove the chicken from the oven. Pour any pan drippings from the chicken into the sauce and stir to combine. Divide the chicken pieces between 4 plates. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve.

ROAST CHICKEN WITH TARRAGON

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Remove fat from the crop and cavity of the chicken. Remove the neck, gizzards and liver and freeze for another use.
• Squeeze half the lemon all over the skin of the chicken. Season the skin with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with the remaining half lemon, garlic and 1 bunch whole tarragon.
• Put the chicken in a roasting pan, breast side up, and roast 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the juices run clear. During the first few minutes, either shake the chicken or move it frequently with a wooden spoon to keep it from sticking.
• When chicken is done, tilt it over the roasting pan to let the cavity juices run into the pan. Remove the chicken to a platter. Pour off the fat from the roasting pan.
• Put the pan on top of the stove. Add the wine and bring the contents of the pan to a boil, while scraping the bottom vigorously with a wooden spoon. Stir in tarragon leaves. Let simmer 5 minutes once the pan is thoroughly deglazed. Serve the pan juices over the chicken or pass it separately in a sauce boat.

TARRAGON ROAST CHICKEN WITH SUMMER GREENS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Finely grate the zest and squeeze the juice from the lemon, then set aside, keeping them separate from each other. Put the squeezed-out lemon and the tarragon sprig in the chicken cavity. Tip the potatoes into a large roasting tin and toss with the oil and a grinding of black pepper. Sit the chicken in the middle, but not on top of the potatoes and roast for 1¼-1½ hrs until the chicken is cooked but still moist, and the potatoes are tender and golden. Remove the tin from the oven, pour off any juices into a jug and set aside. Toss the lemon zest through the potatoes and leave the chicken to rest, covered, while you cook the greens.
• Pour 150ml water into a pan and add the bouillon. Drop in the leeks, cover and cook for 2 mins, then add the asparagus and peas. Cover again and cook for 2 mins more. Finally, stir through the spinach to wilt it. Pour the roasting juices into the veg with 2 tbsp lemon juice, the yogurt and tarragon leaves, and stir well. If you're following our Healthy Diet Plan, serve half the veg with the meat from a skinless chicken leg and breast. Eat the other breast and leg with the remaining veg on another day. Will keep for up to three days, covered, in the fridge. To serve, reheat on plates in the microwave. Reserve any meat left on the carcass for our healthy quinoa salad.

HONEY-ROASTED CHICKEN WITH LEMON AND TARRAGON

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat to 425°F.
• Finely grate enough zest from 1 lemon to measure 1 tablespoon, then squeeze enough juice from same lemon to measure 2 tablespoons.
• Stir together butter, tarragon, zest, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper.
• Put chicken, breast side up, in a small roasting pan. Starting from neck cavity, work your fingers gently between skin and flesh of breast to loosen skin all the way to thighs without tearing. Put one fourth of tarragon butter under skin of each breast, then rub skin from outside to spread evenly.
• Starting from large cavity, loosen skin on both sides of cavity with a paring knife (to provide access to thighs), then work your fingers gently between skin and flesh of thighs and drumsticks. Divide remaining tarragon butter among thighs and drumsticks, rubbing skin from outside to spread evenly. Season cavity and skin with salt and pepper, then halve remaining lemon and put inside cavity along with garlic. Tie drumsticks together with kitchen string.
• Whisk together honey, lemon juice, oil, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Roast chicken 30 minutes, then brush pan juices and half of honey mixture over chicken and roast 10 minutes more. Brush chicken again with pan juices and remaining honey mixture and continue to roast until thermometer inserted in fleshy part of a thigh (do not touch bone) registers 170°F, about 20 minutes more.
• Transfer chicken to a cutting board and let stand 10 to 15 minutes before carving. Skim fat from pan juices and serve juices with chicken.