Rosemary & Fennel Roast Chicken

The time has come to spend my afternoons after work and weekend days outside in the yard working in the garden, at the baseball field or sitting on the porch enjoying the awesome weather. I LOVE to cook, but definitely don’t want to be stuck inside over a high maintenance meal, so putting as much in one dish as possible is definitely a top priority.

Roast chicken is not only delicious, but cooking the whole bird leaves options for other meals, too. This roasted chicken dish is light and easy and will definitely be a part of our Spring and Summer menu plans!!

Rosemary & Fennel Roast Chicken

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 3-4 lb whole roasting chicken
• 1 fennel bulb, sliced
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, separated
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3-4 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, reserve lemon halves
• 3 whole garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Layer the bottom of a roasting pan with sliced fennel. In a bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, salt and pepper. Pour half of mixture over sliced fennel and toss to coat.
2. Prepare chicken by washing and removing any innards. Break skin away gently from meat with hand. Place rosemary sprigs between skin and flesh. Rub remaining olive mixture over flesh of chicken and then over the entire outside of the skin. Place lemon halves and whole garlic in cavity of chicken. Using kitchen twine, tie legs of chicken together and tuck wings under. Place over fennel.
3. Roast chicken in preheated oven until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F, about 50 minutes to 1 hour. It is best to use a digital thermometer and check each time you baste the chicken. About every 10 minutes, brush chicken with olive mixture in bottom of pan. Once chicken is cooked, removed from oven and cover loosely with foil and let rest 5 minutes before carving. Serve chicken with fennel. Pour any juices at the bottom of the pan chicken and fennel. Season with salt and pepper, if needed.