If you are fan of Ina Garten then you are familiar with Jeffrey’s Roast Chicken. Ina’s husband Jeffrey works at Yale University and commutes from the Hamptons every Sunday evening to Connecticut and returns to Long Island Friday night. Ina loves to prepare roast chicken for him on Friday evenings, hence the name Jeffrey’s Roast Chicken. She says the aroma that fills the house is a nice greeting for her husband after the long commute and the roast chicken is the perfect comfort meal to have after a long week of work.
I roast chickens all of the time for my family but this recipe is unique with the lemons and onions that roast in the pan with the chicken and the whole head of garlic you stuff in the bird, yum! After the chicken is done in the oven you use the lemons and onions to make a sauce of wine, stock and flour. It really adds flavor to what can typically be a simple meal. Charlie loved eating the roasted lemons alone. The expression on his face as he ate them was priceless. Jeffrey’s roast chicken recipe can be found in Barefoot Contessa How Easy is That? cookbook.
We served Ina’s Maple-roasted butternut squash along with the chicken. This dish is so good. You mix the squash with pancetta, maple syrup, whole cloves of garlic and sage in addition to the typical olive oil, pepper and salt. I could not get enough of it and my children enjoyed it too. This recipe can be found in Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics cookbook.
This was a great fall meal. Enjoy!
Jeffrey’s Roast Chicken
Ingredients
1 (4 to 5 pound) roasting chicken
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 lemons
1 whole head of garlic, cut in half crosswise
Good olive oil
2 Spanish onions, peeled and thickly sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade (page 181)
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Remove and discard the chicken giblets. Pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Cut the lemons in quarters and place 2 quarters in the cavity along with the garlic. Brush the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the chicken in a small (11 x 14) roasting pan. (If the pan is too large, the onions will burn.) Place the reserved lemons and the sliced onions in a lrge bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Pour the mixture around the chicken.
Roast chicken for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and a thigh. Remove the chicken to a platter, leaving the lemons and onions in the pan. Cover the chicken with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 10 minutes while you prepare the sauce.
Place the pan on top of the stove over medium-high heat. Add the wine and stir with a wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits. Add the stock and sprinkle on the flour, stirring constantly for a minute, until the sauce thickens. Add any juices that collect on the platter under the chicken and taste for seasoning. Carve the chicken onto the platter and spoon the onions and sauce over it. If the lemons ar tender enough to eat, serve them too. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot or warm.
Maple-roasted butternut squash
Ingredients
1 large butternut squash
1 head garlic, seperated but not peeled
2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 ounces thinly sliced pancetta, chopped
16 whole fresh sage leaves
French bread, for serving
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Peel and seed the butternut squash and then cut it into 3/4 to 1-inch cubes. Place the squash and the whole unpeeled garlic cloves on a sheet pan in one layer. Toss with the olive oil, maple syrup, salt, and pepper and bake for 20 – 30 minuts, until the squash begins to brown, turning once during baking.
Sprinkle pancetta and the sage leaves evenly over the butternut squash and continue to bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the squash and garlic are tender and caramelized. Season to taste and serve hot with French bread for guests to spread with roasted garlic.
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