Honey-Roasted Chicken with Garlic, Lavender, and Roasted Vegetables
INGREDIENTS
4 pounds roasting chicken, spatchcocked
10 whole garlic cloves, crushed
1/3 cup runny honey, or any good-quality honey
1 1/2 tablespoons lavender honey (if you
have)
1 teaspoon dried thyme, or 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 small onion, chopped
1 lemon, juiced
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 medium potatoes, rinsed & skin-on, quartered (1
red, 1 yukon gold, 1 purple, if possible)
1 broccoli crown, florets cut small
1 cauliflower head, florets cut small (purple or yellow
if available, for color)
1 large carrot, peeled & sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons dried culinary lavender
METHOD
In a bowl, make your marinade.
First, crush your dried lavender to release their oils. You can do as I do:
Crush and roll the dried lavender back and forth in your hands, or you can use
a mortar and pestle for this. (A wooden spoon, bottom of a cup, etc., also work
fine.)
Once the lavender is crushed in
your bowl, add in the honey (both regular and lavender, if you have it), olive
oil, lemon juice, smoked paprika, thyme, crushed garlic cloves, chopped onion,
Kosher salt and black pepper. Give it a good stir until all are combined, and
add then add in the bay leaves.
MARINATE:
In a large Ziploc refrigerator
storage bag or plastic tupperware, place in the spatchcocked chicken and pour
in the marinade. Make sure the pieces are completely coated. (I like to best do
this by sealing the Ziploc bag, and massaging the chicken with the marinade.
Less mess!) The chicken will be best marinated overnight, or for at least 5
hours.
When the chicken is done
marinating, remove the bay leaves and discard. Remove the chicken and set
aside; reserve the marinade. Preheat your oven to 425° F.
In a roasting pan, place in your
chopped and colorful vegetable medley (potatoes, carrot, broccoli, and
cauliflower). Douse them with a bit of olive oil and the reserved chicken
marinade (garlic, onions, and all), a dash of both salt and pepper, and toss
until all are coated. Spread out on the bottom of the pan.
Lay the chicken flat, skin-side
down (not up), on top of the vegetables. Season the chicken with a bit of
Kosher salt & pepper, and put the entire roasting pan into the oven to cook
for about 30-minutes.
After the 30 minutes are done,
take the roasting pan out of the oven and carefully flip the chicken over with
tongs, so it is now skin-side up. Season the surface of the chicken skin with
salt and pepper, and put the roasting pan back into the oven to cook for
another 25-30 minutes, or until the meat on the chicken thigh reads 165° on a
meat thermometer (150° F on the breast meat). Or, if you don't have a meat
thermometer, pierce the thickest part of the meat with a fork and see if the juices
run clear (and not bloody).
Once the chicken is done, take
the roasting pan out of the oven and carefully remove the chicken to rest on a
plate for about 10-15 minutes. Take this time to stir around the pan-dripped
roasted vegetables and season them to your liking. Remove from the roasting
pan, and to a serving plate.
Once the chicken is rested, carve
up to your liking (half, quarter, however you want). Serve atop the roasted
vegetables.
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