Looking for some comfort food? What's better comfort food than a simple roast chicken? Not much. And when it's accompanied by fresh, oven roasted green beans? It's a match made in heaven. Or your kitchen.
It is said that the perfect roast chicken is the ultimate goal of many a great cook. I've tried SO many different recipes for roast chicken and this one ranks right up there with some of the best.
This is the recipe as prepared by Grant Achatz. It is printable from that link.
Roasted Chicken with Garlic-Thyme Butter:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
6 clove garlic, four crushed, 2 pressed or finely diced
1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme, plus two springs
salt and freshly ground pepper
One 4 1/2 pound chicken
One lemon, quartered
1/4 cup water
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375°.
In a small bowl, blend the butter with the minced garlic and chopped thyme and season with salt and pepper. Carefully loosen the breast skin of the chicken. Spread the butter evenly over the breast meat then smooth out the skin. Rub any extra garlic-thyme butter all over the outside of the chicken.
Stuff the crushed garlic, thyme sprigs and lemon quarters into the cavity and tie the legs together with twine (yeah...I didn't do this step...whatever. I hate twining legs). Season the chicken with salt and pepper and set it in a small, flameproof roasting pan.
At this point, honestly? Who'd eat this mess?
Roast for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when an inner thigh is pierced. Transfer the chicken to a carving board and let rest for 10 minutes. Now, is that not beautiful?
Pour the pan juices into a small saucepan. Add the water to the roasting pan and bring to a boil over moderately high heat; scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Simmer for 2 minutes, then pour the liquid into the saucepan. Season the jus with salt and pepper and keep hot. Carve the chicken and serve with the jus.
My sister came by on Sunday with some of the first bounty from her garden. Among the things she brought? Some beautiful young green beans. Instantly, I thought of this bean recipe. It's simple and delicious; it's simply delicious!
I prepared the beans on the baking sheet and put them in the oven when the chicken was resting.
Oven Roasted Green Beans with Garlic, Pine Nuts & Onions:
Green Beans
1 small onion, diced
2 Tbs toasted pine nuts
1 clove garlic, pressed or finely diced
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Directions:
Place green beans, onion, pine nuts and garlic on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Add salt and pepper. Toss.
In this recipe, I had some garlic thyme butter left over from the chicken, and I tossed it on there too. :
Roast in 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Tossing them once, half way through. This is what they look like when they are completed. The onions and the beans still have some crispness in them:
I plattered it for the beauty shot:
This is my plate. I love the white meat:
I feel comforted. You can too. And the best comfort food is easy to prepare. A win/win situation...
Paula
3 comments:
You're right - raw, it does look like a mess! Ha. But the finished product is gorgeous. I can't imagine you'd go wrong with a recipe from Grant Achatz. And the green beans are killer - especially since you added the thyme butter. YUM!
Melissa...I feel certain that a Vegan friend will use that raw/slathered in butter chicken photo as an example of disgusting food. I'd hardly blame her.
But, wow! Was the finished product ever good! The left-overs made some awesome sandwiches too.
I hardly ever cook my fresh beans any other way than a quick roasting since I had beans this way. I like most of my veggies on the crisp side and this is perfect for that.
Oh me too. Roasting is magic!
Post a Comment