Roasted Chicken with Vegetables and Citrus

You know how every Mom has a one-liner?  It’s that one saying that they have repeated over and over again.  That we, as children, have no choice but to accept as truth.  It’s that one tidbit of wisdom or a motto to live by.

My Mom’s phrase is  “practice makes perfect.”  She pulls it out all the time.  Like when I was in third grade and couldn’t climb that dumb rope in gym class. All of my classmates breezed right up to the top and rang that celebratory bell, but I couldn’t muster the strength to even make it a quarter of the way.  “Practice makes perfect.”  Or when I was 16, and failed my driving test… twice.  It’s true, parallel parking was not one of my strong suits (and still isn’t).  But both times she let me finish crying and then said, “practice makes perfect.”  It’s this one little phrase and the woman who always uses it that has pushed me harder and made me stronger.

So this dish is in honor of my Mom and her words of wisdom.  This woman has always supported my ideas and decisions, and because she believes that I can achieve anything if I practice hard enough at it.  Fortunately, this roasted chicken dish didn’t take any practice.  As I smelled it in the oven, I knew it was going to be delicious the first time around.  And delicious it was… the meat was so juicy and the roasted vegetables were bursting with sweet flavors from the citrus and fennel.  This dish should not be missed.

Roasted Chicken with Vegetables & Citrus

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Serves	5
Prep time	30 minutes
Cook time	1 hour, 45 minutes
Total time	2 hours, 15 minutes
Meal type	Main Dish
From magazine	Bon Appetit

Roasted Chicken with Vegetables and Citrus is an extremely flavorful and healthy meal that everyone can enjoy. The sweet, roasted lemon and orange pairs well with the unique aromatic flavor of the fennel.

Ingredients

• 1 fennel bulb (cut into 8 wedges)
• 8 medium yellow potatoes (cut into half)
• 3 large carrots (cut into quarters)
• 4 shallots (cut into half)
• 2 lemons (cut into 1/2" slices)
• 1 orange (cut into 1/2" slices)
• 1 6 lb. whole chicken (giblets removed)
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 head of garlic (cut in half)
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions

1.	Prepare all vegetables and place the fennel, potato, carrots, and shallots along the outer edge of the roasting pan. Layer vegetables with lemon and orange slices.
2.	Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove giblets from the chicken. Wash chicken, and pat very dry with papertowel.
3.	Stuff chicken with the halved lemon, head of garlic, and fronds from fennel bulb.
4.	Create rub by mixing lemon zest, minced garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Rub 3 TBSP olive oil over chicken, season chicken with the lemon/garlic rub all over outside of chicken.
5.	Nestle chicken in center of the roasting pan, surrounded by all of the vegetables. Place lid on pan and let cook for about 1.5 hours, until temperature of chicken thigh reaches 165 degrees.
6.	After 1.5 hours, remove lid from the pan, and let cook another 15 minutes, allowing the skin to crisp up.
7.	Remove from oven and let cool/rest for 15 minutes. Serve.

We loved the combination of the fennel with the citrus, so I would definitely recommend not skipping these ingredients.  The rest of the vegetables, however, are customizable.  You could use leeks, parsnips, sweet potatoes, or any other root vegetable you have on hand.  This would be a great meal to make to honor your mom… it’s easy, healthy, and so flavorful. Everyone in the family can find something to like about this dish.

Happy Mother’s Day! Does your Mom have a one-liner that she’s known for?  What was on your Mother’s Day menu? We’d love to hear from you!

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