Lemon-Garlic Roast Chicken with Sauteed Green Beans
This recipe calls for frozen or fresh green beans. I use fresh because there is less room for error. After roasting the chicken, sauté some green beans in the rich pan juices. And this recipe can be modified to your tastes and ingredients on hand – cilantro instead of parsley, ginger instead of garlic, etc.
Preheat oven to 450°F (235°C).
Stir together first 7 ingredients. Starting at neck cavity, loosen skin from breast and drumsticks by inserting fingers and gently pushing between skin and meat. (Do not completely detach skin.) Rub half of butter mixture evenly under skin.
Tie ends of legs together with string; tuck wing tips under. Spread remaining half of butter mixture over chicken. Place chicken, breast side up, on a lightly greased rack in a lightly greased shallow roasting pan.
Bake at 450°F (235°C) for 30 minutes.
Reduce heat to 350°F (175°C) and bake 40 minutes or until meat thermometer inserted into thigh registers 170°F (77°C). Cover loosely with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning, if necessary. Remove chicken and place on a serving platter, reserving drippings in pan. Cover chicken with foil and let stand 10 minutes before slicing.
Bring pan juices to a boil in a large skillet; add green beans, and cook 5 to 7 minutes or to desired degree of tenderness. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve beans on platter with chicken. Garnish if desired.
Stephanie Dickison
Not only do I review restaurants and write about food for a living, but I’m spend much of my “free” time cooking, shopping for ingredients and basically thinking about what I’m going to make next. I figure if I’m thinking about this stuff, someone out there must be too. I can’t be the only one questioning whether next time I make roast lime chicken, I should finish it with grains of paradise or pepitas. Whether it is writing a restaurant review, chef profile, or a column about everything from asparagus to zinfandel, I am up for the challenge. After running my own catering business and creating original recipes and menus, and spending as much time in restaurants and cooking classes, I am ready to tackle any topic – how to make perfect eggs Benedict every time, the gadget that will change your life, and raw food – will it ever catch on? I am passionate about fresh food, local and international cuisines and anything that James Beard said, wrote or made. I bring that same passion to my food writing. A good portion of my book, The 30-Second Commute (ECW Press, 2009), is dedicated to my experiences in restaurants and with chefs. I am constantly asked about this in particular, so my goal was to answer those questions that you might have. Read all about what I’ve got to say about today’s menus – Will mini sliders continue to wow the crowd? Is shrimp still the top-selling appetizer choice? Should you offer 3 or 10 desserts? I have spent much of my career writing with one hand and eating or stirring a pot with the other. This is the life.