LEMON AND THYME ROASTED CHICKEN

This a great dish for Sunday supper. The whole house will smell so good from the lemons, thyme, and garlic. My friend, Sherry, gave me the new Nordstrom Flavors cookbook and this recipe caught my eye.

It is very similar to a recipe I made from the Barefoot Contessa. Instead of putting all of the garlic inside the chicken she roasted the garlic along side the bird (she put a few cloves in the cavity). And instead of olive oil she used butter. I like the olive oil best. I served this with acorn squash and roasted potatoes.


1 whole chicken (around 4 lbs.)
1 bunch fresh thyme, lemon thyme if possible (about 25 sprigs)
10 cloves of garlic
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon, quartered
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Oil a roasting rack and place in roasting pan. Chop enough thyme for 1 tbsp (stems removed, but set aside to use later). Mince 3 garlic cloves. Cut each of the remaining garlic halves in half and the lemon in quarters.Season the cavity with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Stuff the cavity with the thyme stems and other leftover thyme sprigs, the garlic halves and the lemon quarters.
In a small bowl, stir together the oil, the remaining salt and pepper, the chopped thyme and minced garlic. Spread the oil mixture evenly over the outside of the chicken. I also tucked the mixture under the skin to spread some directly on the meat. Place the chicken breast side down in the roasting pan.

Roast the chicken for 30 minutes. Then turn the chicken breast side up and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Continue to roast until a thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh reaches 170 degrees F, about 1 hour 10 minutes more. When the chicken is done, remove from oven and let rest for 5-10 minutes (this lets the chicken absorb its juices).
After the chicken was finished roasting I didn't think it looked dark enough so I put it under the broiler for 5 minutes. Next time I would broil it for 10 minutes.