Many years ago, I happened upon a magazine article about engagement chicken. In the article, several women recounted stories about how they prepared a roast chicken for their boyfriends and shortly thereafter became engaged. The implied idea was this one simple dish had the power to nudge boyfriends to proposed to their girlfriends. I remember thinking the stories must be a series of coincidences. No way would a dish as simple as a roast chicken lead to dozens of engagements. The article slipped my mind until years later when I tried to make the perfect roast chicken. It was at the moment when the chicken came out beautifully roasted that I thought back to the article about engagement chicken. The idea of roasting a whole chicken from scratch for one’s partner seemed like the perfect romantic gesture. I even contemplated trying a little experiment to see if I would get an engagement out of serving Kevin a roast chicken from scratch. However, due to timing and a mixture of other factors, I did not get the chance to test out the engagement chicken on Kevin. My engagement story was very different. It involved family members not being able to keep secrets, some getting lost going to the proposal site, and a premature proposal. I’ll save the story for another time. Getting back to the roast chicken, it’s a dish I’ve made many times over the last few years. The first truly amazing roast chicken I made was a salt and pepper roast chicken over a bed of crusty bread. The recipe was inspired by a truly delightful roast chicken I had at a restaurant in Portland, Maine. The signature roast chicken dish wasn’t anything fancy. It was just a half of a whole roasted chicken served over a bed of crusty bread. The bread, having sat in the juices of the roast chicken, absorbed all of the flavor of the chicken. It became my preferred way of cooking roast chicken over time. The roast chicken turned out great every time no matter how many times I made it, so it became my go-to roast chicken recipe for years. Last weekend, I was feeling a bit adventurous and crafted a version of roast chicken featuring garlic, lemon, rosemary, olive oil, kosher salt, pepper, a whole chicken cut into parts, and vegetables. I tossed a quartered onion, several peeled and halved carrots, tons of garlic cloves, sliced lemons, and a few sprigs of rosemary into the baking dish. I then generously seasoned the chicken parts with salt and pepper, cooked everything at 350°F for the first 45 minutes, added a pat of butter, and then continued cooking the dish at 300°F for another 45 minutes. Right before serving, I topped the chicken with some fresh parsley to add some greenery and another element of flavor to the dish. The resulting roast chicken over vegetables was one of the juiciest, most aromatic, and beyond flavorful roast chicken I’ve ever made. I served the dish to Kevin and he absolutely loved it. Too bad I can’t go back in time to test out the possibility of whether or not the dish would’ve gotten Kevin to propose to me in our early years of dating. I guess the possibility will always be in my mind. Regardless, my garlic, lemon, and rosemary roast chicken over vegetables was just the perfect dish for two whether or not we were celebrating a milestone. To fancy up the meal, we clinked glasses of sparkling grape juice as we indulged in the chicken dish. It made for the perfect low-key Saturday night meal for two.
For the garlic, lemon, and rosemary roast chicken over vegetables:
· 1 large onion, quartered
· 6-8 carrots, peeled and halved
· 10-15 cloves of garlic, skins peeled
· 5-6 pound whole chicken, innards removed and cut into parts
· 2 lemons, cut into thick slices
· 1 teaspoon kosher salt
· ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
· 5-6 tablespoons olive oil
· 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
· 6-8 sprigs of fresh parsley, for garnishing
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350°F.
2) In a large baking dish, scatter the quartered onion, halved carrots, and garlic cloves all over the dish. Arrange the chicken parts in one layer in the dish. Take the lemon slices and place some on top of the chicken parts. Tuck a few slices underneath the chicken. Generously season the chicken and vegetables with kosher salt, and black pepper. Drizzle on the olive oil.
3) Place the dish in the oven and let cook for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, turn the heat in the oven down to 300°F, toss in the cubed butter, and let cook for another 30 to 45 minutes. When time is up, remove the baking dish from the oven and let cool for about ten minutes before topping with fresh parsley.
Takeaways: This method of roasting chicken in relatively low heat over vegetables in the oven allowed the chicken to cook through and still retain most of its juiciness. The chicken served with the onion and carrots was enough for Kevin and I. If you prefer a heartier, more filling dish, you can always toss in some cubed potatoes into the dish prior to roasting.