Today I exchanged messages with my friends Nik and Megan, who are engaged to be married in June (projected to be the best wedding ever!). They live in Guerneville, California, my former home town, and from time to time I miss it and them with such nostalgic fervor, especially when Megan and I talk about food and farming and simple living. Megan wrote me first, she was making roast chicken with garlic. Both came from local farms. When Nik wrote, it was post-roast chicken consumption. I thought about how amazing a meal roast chicken is. Tender meat infused with garlic or herbs or citrus, potatoes and carrots or other tough vegetables that can withstand a couple of hours simmering in the savory juices. It's such a simple yet totally satisfying meal and so EASY to find the ingredients locally. This whole "buying local" food thing doesn't seem so difficult if all meals could be as simple as roast chicken. Why couldn't they be?
Roast Chicken with Lemon, Herbs and Garlic
(Try to find the ingredients from local sources. Always try to buy organic, too.)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
one roasting chicken, 7-8 lbs
olive oil
8-10 cloves of garlic
a bunch of your favorite herbs, such as thyme, rosemary or sage
1 lemons
salt and pepper
potatoes, carrots, or other root veggies, cut into large chunks
Don't forget to pull the little plastic sack of giblets from the cavity of the chicken. Rinse the chicken in cold water and pat it down. Drizzle a little olive oil on the chicken and rub all over the surface. Loosen the skin around the breasts and legs. Crush 5 cloves of garlic and chop 2/3 of the herbs. Mix together in a small bowl with a little olive oil and juice from one lemon. Rub the mixture under the skin, spreading evenly over the whole chicken. Salt and pepper the chicken to taste. (You can also rub the mixture over the surface of the chicken of you don't feel like going under the skin - your call)
Smash remaining garlic with flat end of a kitchen knife or heavy object. Place garlic, lemon peels and remaining herbs in chicken cavity. Place chicken in roasting pan with veggies along the side. Place in the oven and roast until thigh temperature reaches 170 degrees F, about 1 hour and 45 minutes. You can also test doneness by wiggling the leg bone - if it wiggles freely, it's done! You usually don't have to baste a roasting chicken, but you can if you feel like it.
Carve and serve with veggies. Serve with some nice chilled local white wine, or not.
