Dinner Together: Lime rosemary chicken over onions
Roast chicken has become a pretty sure bet for our Dinners Together. The key is to find ways to vary it for the adults (and for you readers!) while keeping the kids on board.
This chicken from "Simply Delicioso," a cookbook by Food Network star Ingrid Hoffmann from the show of the same name, mostly filled the requirements. With lemon and lime under the skin, a coating of adobo and a mess of onions roasting below, this chicken takes on a beautifully subtle Latin flavor. The meat was moist and delicious, and the kids ate it up.
That is, until Leah got a piece of meat that had been close to one of the lime slices....
She said that tasted like "sanitizer" and was more than a bit put off.
Oh well. I think this chicken would be almost as good if you left out the lime.
We prepared this in the oven on a not-too-hot day, but it could also be cooked using the indirect method on the grill. The onions and fruit make for a lovely presentation.
Lime and Rosemary Chicken
Serves 4
5 medium yellow onions, about 2 pounds, unpeeled and quartered
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 lemon, halved and thinly sliced
1 lime, halved and thinly sliced
one 3-pound chicken, rinsed inside and out and patted dry
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, plus 2 extra sprigs
2 tablespoons adobo seasoning
Preaheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.
Place the onions in a large bowl. Add the olive oil, some salt and pepper, a pinch of the garlic slices, and a few lemon and lime slices. Toss to coat, place the mixture in the bottom of the prepared pan, and set aside.
Trim any excess fat off the chicken and tuck its wings underneath its back. Using your fingers, gently separate the skin from the breasts, legs and thighs. Rub a pinch of rosemary on the meat under the skin of the breast and then stuff a few slices of the garlic, lemon and lime beneat the chicken's skin. Continue seasoning the thigh and leg meat, using the rest of the herbs, garlic, lemon and lime.
Rub the chicken, inside and out, with the adobo seasoning. Tie the chicken's legs together with kitchen twin and place the chicken on a rack set over the onion mixture on the prepared pan.
Roast the chicken, basting it with pan drippings occasionally, until the juices at the leg-thigh joint run clear and a digital thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reads 165 degrees, 1 hour to 1 hour and 20 minutes, stirring the onions midway through cooking. (If at any time the onions look to be browning too much, add 1/2 cup water to the roasting pan or baking sheet.) Transfer the chicken to a cutting board, loosely tent with foil, and transfer the onions to a serving platter. When the chicken has rested for 10 minutes, remove the lemon and lime slices, carve it, and arrange on a platter with the onions.
--From "Simply Delicioso" by Ingrid Hoffmann
Per serving: 532 calories, 44 grams protein, 30 grams fat, 8 grams saturated fat, 21 grams carbohydrate, 5 grams fiber, 134 milligrams cholesterol, 137 milligrams sodium. Analysis by registered dietitian Jodie Shield.
(Photo by me)
