Roast Chicken with citrusy twist
MANILA, Philippines — You cannot go wrong with Roast Chicken because roasting the chicken always brings out the poultry’s natural flavors, and if you enhance it with a few seasonings and aromatics, you get excellent results.
This Roast Chicken recipe by the mother-and-son team of Sylvia and Ernest Reynoso Gala uses the powerful combination of lemon and rosemary to make for a delicious whole roast. Rubbing the chicken with rosemary or lemon juice with salt and pepper is already enough, more so when combined.
Tita Sylvia, as her students call her, also teaches how to make an awesome gravy to go with the chicken.
Lemon-flavored Roasted Chicken
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (1 1/2 kgs.), top ass removed
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Grated rind of lemon
1/2 cup (112 grams) Salted Butter
1 tbsp. each rock salt and fresh rosemary leaves (or 1 tsp. dried rosemary)
1 tsp. coarsely ground peppercorns
For the stuffing:
1 cup each baby potatoes and baby tomatoes, washed and unpeeled
For the gravy:
Drippings from the roasted chicken
3 tbsps. all-purpose flour
2 cups full cream milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Procedure:
1. Prepare the chicken. Place it on a foil-lined baking tray. Rub all over, including the cavity, with lemon juice.
2. Mix the lemon rind, butter, and seasonings, and rub all over chicken. Put stuffing in the cavity. Tie legs with a string. Enclose foil and bake at 350°F or 175°C for 2 hours. Open foil and cook for 30 minutes more or until golden brown.
3. Combine all ingredients for the gravy in a saucepan. Mix with wire whisk while cooking over medium fire until simmering.
4. Transfer chicken to serving platter. Serve gravy on the side.
