#46 Roasted Chicken with Rosemary, Lemon and Honey

I made this dish last week when my Mama came to visit us here in California for a few days before flying back to the Philippines. Roast chicken is a favorite back home, our family loves it. This is a great recipe, the house smelled amazing! Mama said the chicken tastes great. :)  I always roast chicken myself instead of grabbing one from the grocery store, it just tastes different and so much better when you make your own. The rosemary, honey and lemon put altogether created  a wonderful blend of flavors and aroma. I am glad Ma enjoyed a good meal while staying with me. Since I like eating leftovers, I enjoyed it the next day. :)

ROASTED CHICKEN WITH ROSEMARY, LEMON AND HONEY



Ingredients:

6 ounces of fresh rosemary springs
2-4 pounds of chicken
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey
2 lemons, 1 halved, 1 sliced into eight 1/4 inch rounds
1 pound shallots, peeled
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a large roasting pan with 3/4 of rosemary sprigs. Place chicken on top.
2. Whisk 1/4 cup oil, lemon juice, and honey in a small bowl to blend. Using your hands, and beginning at the neck end of chicken, gently lift away skin from breast. Under skin of each chicken, rub 1/4 cup lemon mixture into meat.  Drizzle remaining lemon mixture all over outside of chicken.
3. Place 1 lemon half and 1 shallot inside chicken cavity; stuff with remaining rosemary sprigs, dividing equally. Season chicken all over with salt and pepper. Place remaining shallots around chicken; arrange 4 lemon rounds on top of chicken, drizzle shallots and lemon rounds with remaining 2 Tbsp. oil.
4. Roast chicken, basting frequently with pan juices for 45 minutes. 
5. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 Degrees and skin is deep golden and crispy, about 10 minutes longer.
6. Spoon pan juices over chicken, shallots, and lemon slices and serve in roasting pan.

Recipe adapted from: Melia Marden

Today I learned that the rosemary herb is native to the Mediterranean area. Rosemary is usually found growing by the ocean, it's latin name, ros "dew" & marinus "sea", equates to "dew of the sea",  in some areas it needs no water to live, just the breeze from the sea. Maybe I can bring some seeds when I visit my home in Philippines, since we live near the sea. I would like for every one back home to enjoy this wonderful herb, it smells good and it is said to improve memory.

Looks like the origin of roast chicken is unknown because I did not find anything on the internet after researching for several days now. If you know, please leave a comment below. Thanks for reading!