Roasted Chicken with Clementines and Fennel

For Easter last week, my sister Lara and I decided to break from tradition and try something new. Instead of serving ham or lamb with potatoes and a basic vegetable, we chose to go with an Israeli inspired feast. I mentioned previously that this past Christmas my sister-in-law gave me the cookbook Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. Now that I've made a handful of recipes from this book I can say with confidence that it is a great cookbook, I love it. Everything I've made has been absolutely fantastic. 

We decided on the recipe for Roasted Chicken with Clementines and Arak for our main dish. The photo in the cookbook was mouth watering, and the ingredients didn't look too exotic so I thought it wouldn't be too scary for the less adventurous eaters in my family.  The end result was outstanding, the flavors of fennel and clementine shined through in perfect balance in this beautiful and colorful dish. 

This recipe really couldn't be simpler. Mix together a few simple ingredients and let marinate in the fridge overnight. The next day the work is minimal. Just throw it all in a big roasting pan and stick it in the oven. That's it. So easy and so good. 

Once it comes out of the oven pour all the cooking liquid into a pan and reduce to make a nice flavorful sauce. Pour it over the cooked chicken and serve! You won't be disappointed. 

And here's the entire feast. I thought it was an absolutely fantastic meal. Along with the chicken the rest of the menu included: 

Fresh homemade pita
Homemade hummus
Spinach salad with prunes and almonds
Yogurt pasta salad with basil, pine nuts and feta
Simple rice pilaf
Clementine and almond syrup cake

Roasted Chicken with Clementines and Fennel
Slightly adapted from Jerusalem by Yottam Ottolenchi and Sami Tamimi
Ingredients

• 6 1/2 tablespoons dry white wine (or Arak, Ouzo or Pernod if you have it, I didn't)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons grainy mustard
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar or honey
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 medium fennel bulb, cut into chunks
• 1 or 2 medium onions cut into chunks
• 3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces (I used thighs and legs)
• 4 clementines (14 oz), unpeeled, sliced thin
• a few sprigs of thyme
• 1-2 teaspoons fennel seeds, lightly crushed 
• Chopped flat-leaf parsley, to garnish

Directions
In a large mixing bowl whisk together the wine, olive oil, orange juice, lemon juice mustard, sugar, salt and pepper. Add the fennel, onion, chicken, clementines, thyme and fennel seeds. Stir well with your hands, then leave to marinate in the fridge for a few hours or overnight (you can also skip the marinating step if you are pressed for time).

When ready to roast, preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Transfer the chicken and its marinade to a baking sheet large enough to accommodate everything in a single layer. Place the chicken skin side up. Roast the chicken for 35 to 45 minutes, until colored and cooked through. 

Life the chicken, fennel and clementines from the pan and arrange on a serving plate; cover and keep warm. Pour the cooking liquid into a small saucepan, place over medium-high heat, bring to a boil, then simmer until the sauce is reduced by one third, so you are left with about 1/3 cup. Pour the hot sauce over the chicken, garnish with parsley and serve. 

Perfect Roast Chicken

Some days all I want for dinner is a simple roasted chicken. Roasting a chicken is easy, delicious and so satisfying. Opening the oven door and pulling out the finished product, drinking in the smells of a perfectly cooked chicken mixing with lemon, garlic and wine, it doesn't get much better than that. For this recipe you roast the chicken atop a delicious bed of carrots, onion and fennel with thyme, so you don't even have to worry about making a side dish, it's built in! The only other thing you might need is a loaf of fresh bread with salted butter and your meal is complete. Simple, elegant, and wonderful. 

There's a little prep work involved in this meal, but nothing overly difficult or time consuming. A few vegetables to cut up and some chicken prep but that's about it. You can cut the vegetables a day or two in advance if you are thinking ahead to really streamline this meal. I think the whole head of garlic along with fresh lemon and thyme are the perfect trio to stuff the chicken with. Some of my absolute favorite flavors. The whole thing is just a beautiful combination, and a tasty one too!

Perfect Roast Chicken

Adapted from the 

Food Network

Ingredients

• 1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs
• 1 lemon, halved
• 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
• 1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced
• 4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1 bulb of fennel, tops removed, and cut into wedges
• Olive oil
• White wine (if desired)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the chicken giblets. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside completely dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top. Pour a little of the white wine into the bottom of the pan if desired. 

Roast the chicken for 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.