Serves 4
Ingredients:
4 pound whole chicken (worth spending a little more for a good quality free range chicken)
2 TBSP olive oil
1 lemon, zested then cut into quarters
3 sprigs of rosemary plus 3 TBSP chopped
Salt and pepper
1 small onion quartered
Method:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees with Dutch oven placed inside on middle rack.
Mix olive oil, about 1 TBSP kosher salt, 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, lemon zest and chopped rosemary together. Wash chicken and remove “innards”. Pat dry. Loosen skin over breasts and thighs by pushing fingers between skin and meat. Rub ½ of the olive oil mixture over the meat, under the skin, and the remainder over the top of the skin.
Sprinkle the inside cavity with salt and pepper and loosely fill with onion, lemon and 1 sprig of the rosemary broken into pieces.
Carefully place chicken, breast side up, into hot Dutch oven and lay remaining rosemary sprigs over the top.
Roast for 50 minutes or until thermometer inserted in thigh reads about 160 degrees, turning pan ½ way through cooking.
Remove pan from oven and chicken from pan. Cover loosely with foil and let rest for 15 minutes then cut into pieces. Meanwhile, if a light gravy is desired, spoon off fat and mix pan juices with a little white wine, lemon juice and salt and pepper as needed.
