The spices is for this recipes is ensemble of smoked paprika, fried chili flakes and freshly ground black pepper, mixed with lemon zest. The butter will allow the roast chicken to crisp up nicely and also retain that golden glossy appearance. The idea is to crisp up the Parmesan cheese under a hot grill and then serve the chicken straight out of the oven. You’ll be amazed at just how unbelievably juicy this roast was, the breast section of the chicken was super tender! Don’t discard any of the pan juices, it gets poured over the roast once carved or portioned.
1 large chicken, cleaned but and trimmed
100g butter, unsalted
1 tsp (5 ml) dried chilli flakes
1 Tbsp (15 ml) smoked paprika
1 tsp (5 ml) freshly ground black pepper mixed with,
the zest of 1 lemon
Sea salt flakes to taste
*Preheat the oven to 220 or 230 degrees Celsius.
1. Place all ingredients into a bowl and incorporate them to form a buttery paste.
2. Pat the whole chicken dry with a paper towel and then coat the entire chicken with the spice-infused butter.
3. Place the chicken onto a roasting dish, the breast side facing up.
4. Tie the drumsticks with string.
4 medium-sized red onions (quartered)
6 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
2 lemons, halved
4 twigs of fresh rosemary
2 Tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
Sea salt flakes and freshly ground pepper to taste
1. Scatter the onions and garlic cloves around the chicken.
2. Place the lemons halves in opposite corners of the dish, and position the rosemary close to the chicken in 4 different spots.
3. Season with salt and pepper (this is just for subtly seasoning, so a good pinch of salt and pepper, but not a spoonful)
4. Drizzle the olive oil over all of the ingredients in the roasting dish.
5. Place into your preheated oven on the middle shelf for 20 minutes.
6. Reduce the heat to 180 and broil for about 40 minutes.
7. For the Parmesan crust, check out the next post, or
8. If you prefer not to add the crust, increase the oven temperature to a grill setting and grill the chicken for about 2 to 5 minutes until it has a deep golden, almost terra-cotta-like tinge.
9. I’ve served my roast with slices of roasted pumpkin, lightly dusted with smoked paprika and a drizzle of olive oil, about 2 tablespoons.
1 C (250 ml) grated Parmesan cheese
1. Remove the chicken from the oven (this should be done after it’s broiled at 180 degrees celsius for about 40 minutes).
2. Adjust your oven setting to grill.
3. Generously sprinkle the grated cheese over the chicken.
4. Place back into the oven on the middle rack for 5 to 7 minutes or until the cheese has formed a crust.
