A simple roast chicken gets a springtime update by adding radishes to the roasting pan. Rarely do we think of cooking radishes. Roasting brings out the best in this humble vegetable yielding it sweeter with less bite. They are best when roasted to a soft creamy texture, so either find small radishes, or cut the larger ones in half or in quarters. Add a bit of salt and olive oil for a delicious side dish.
This recipe roasts the whole chicken using a technique that requires cutting out the backbone, opening the chicken and flattening it. This technique is called “butterflied” or “spatchcocked”. The result is a whole chicken that cooks more evenly when roasted and requiring less cooking time than it otherwise would.
Roast Chicken with Spring Radishes
1 5-pound whole roasting chicken
2-3 teaspoons kosher salt or salt spice rub mix
2 small bunches of radishes, scrubbed and trimmed from their greens
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Season the butterflied chicken, both skin side and underside, generously with salt or salt spice rub. Place the seasoned chicken onto a large sheet pan positioning it skin side up with the legs/thighs and breasts/wings flattened out. Scatter the radishes around the chicken. Drizzle the chicken and radishes with olive oil. Place the sheet pan into the hot oven, roasting for 40-50 minutes until the chicken skin is golden brown, and the internal temperature reads as 160 degrees. The radishes should be tender when poked with a small knife. Remove from the oven, allowing the chicken to rest for 10-15 minutes. Keeping the chicken on the sheet pan to catch any juices, carve with a knife or use kitchen shears to cut the chicken into 4 quarters, dividing the breast/wing into 2 servings, and the leg/thigh into 2 servings. Drizzle the pan drippings over the carved chicken pieces when ready to serve along with a few radishes.
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