Roast Chicken with Fennel and Clementines
I was on the verge of roasting a whole chicken when I remembered I'd bookmarked a recipe from Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi. I'd already sprinkled salt/baking powder onto the wings-tucked, sitting-in-the-roasting pan, ready-to-cook chicken when I decided, hell, I'm going to cut up this bird and make this recipe instead.
With meat shears in hand, I hacked away at the bird, prepared the marinade right in the roasting pan, threw everything in and flipped and pressed and coated the pieces as well as I could with the marinade - I skipped the overnight soak - then slid it into the oven. 45 minutes later it was ready to be devoured along with the brown rice in the rice cooker.
The sauce with the citrus juices (clementine and lemon) and hint of brown sugar really makes the dish. And it's another great way to eat fennel. This is definitely going into our rotation!
Roast Chicken with Fennel and Clementines
Adapted from Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi
Serves 4-6
Preheat oven to 475°F.
In a roasting pan large enough to accommodate chicken in a single layer, prepare marinade, whisking together well:
1/2 cup white wine
4 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp mustard, preferably grain, but any will do in a pinch
3 tbsp light brown sugar
3 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp black pepper
Add to marinade:
4-5 lb chicken cut up into 8 pieces or same weight in chicken pieces, skin-on, bone-in
2 fennel bulbs (1 lb), trimmed, sliced in half lengthwise, then each half cut into 4 wedges
1 tbsp dried thyme leaves
1 tbsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
4 clementines, unpeeled, sliced 1/4" thick
Mix well, coating chicken pieces with marinade. Arrange chicken skin side up. Roast for 35-45 minutes, until chicken is colored and cooked through. Remove from oven and garnish with:
chopped flat-leaf parsley
Serve with plain cooked rice or bulgur.
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