Roasted Chicken with Preserved Lemon
Prep Time
15 min
Cooking Time
70 min
Yields
4 servings
Ingredients
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons thyme leaves
3 garlic cloves crushed
1/2 small preserved lemon, seeds discarded, flesh and skin roughly chopped (about 2 1/2 tablespoons)
One lemon: finely zest to get one teaspoon, then juice to get 1 1/2 tbsp
salt and black pepper
one whole chicken
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400°
Place the butter, thyme, garlic, preserved lemon, lemon zest, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a generous grind of pepper in a food processor. Blitz to combine.
With the chickens legs pointing towards you, use your hands to loosen the skin away from the breast and spread most of the butter mixture evenly under the skin and. Spread the remaining butter over the legs.
Place the chicken in a medium high-sided baking dish, drizzle with the lemon juice and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and plenty of pepper.
Roast for roughly 70 minutes, basting every 20 minutes or so, until the skin is golden brown and crisp and the juices run clear when the meat is pierced with a small knife.
Remove from the oven and set aside to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Credit
Yotam Ottolengi