Spring and Roasted Chicken

Last week, after a serious, several day storm, we were blessed here in New York with a few nice, warm, sunny days. It started to look like Spring. Something about that warmer weather made me crave roasted chicken. So for St. Patrick's Day, I made J and I a roast chicken. I considered making something more in the holiday spirit but J said that the reason Irish people eat things like corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's Day is to remind them of how bad everything was, including the food, back in Ireland and how lucky they are to be living in America. So instead of trying to make something Irish, I made something spring-y. Though we didn't delight in all of the wonderful things about Irish cuisine, we enjoyed our chicken very much.

This chicken is so easy to make and wonderfully delicious. Not to mention, chicken is very budget friendly. One chicken will get you at least 2 meals. I made soup with the leftovers (next post). Many recipes will instruct you to truss the chicken, however I find that with such a small chicken, it's really unnecessary. Simply tuck the wings under the chicken. Though I'm sure you already know this, my days spent in class learning about food safety make me feel compelled to remind you to be extra careful with raw chicken. Wash your hands before touching anything else and sanitize anything that touched the raw chicken.

Roast Chicken

1 5lb whole chicken (giblets removed)

2 pads of butter

2 TBS olive oil

salt and pepper

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

1 lemon, ends trimmed off

6 cloves garlic

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Wash and pat dry the chicken, making sure all giblets are removed from the cavity.

3. Separate the skin from the flesh of the chicken and spread the butter on the flesh. You can simply place the butter between the skin and flesh and then move it around by pressing on the skin to spread it.

4. Rub olive oil all over the skin with your hands. Salt and pepper.

5. Place rosemary, lemon and garlic inside of the cavity.

6. Place in a roasting pan and tuck wings under the body.

7. Roast in oven for about 20 minutes. Using a spoon, gather any drippings and pour over the top of the chicken to keep the meat moist. Return to oven for an additional 20 minutes, until the chicken reaches over 165 degrees temperature on a meat thermometer. Let the chicken rest for about 15 minutes before carving.

Save the carcass for soup (recipe next post) or chicken stock.

Tomato Soup

We've had a very interesting winter here in New York. Not even two weeks ago, we were hit with a huge storm that left the city covered in snow. Now, it's sunny and about 55! I'm not complaining, mind you. So even though it's not quite summer yet and tomatoes won't be in season for a few months, I couldn't resist the big beautiful tomatoes at Costco last time I went and bought 5lbs of them. Sometimes I wonder what motivates some of my purchases but I know that they are usually driven by some kind of deal. $8 for 5lbs of tomatoes? That was one bargain I couldn't pass up. However, J and I live alone. 5lbs of tomatoes is a lot for only two people. I thought of making pasta sauce, but we've had a lot of pasta in these past few cold months and shorts and tank top weather is quickly approaching. So I made some delicious tomato soup instead. What really sets this tomato soup apart from other ones is the lemon and rosemary cream. It gives it a hint of sophistication and grown-upness. This isn't the Campbell's you had as a kid. Plus, the cream really doesn't add too much fat, because you really only need a small dollop. This recipe also uses a little bit of dried red chili flakes which gives it just the slightest hint of spiciness. I recommend making the cream first, even a few hours ahead of time so that the lemon and rosemary have a chance to infuse into the cream.

Fresh Tomato Soup with Lemon and Rosemary Cream

adapted from epicurious.com

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary

zest from 1 lemon

1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)

1 onion, diced

3 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

1 bay leaf

2.5 lbs of tomatoes (or 56 oz canned tomatoes)

6 cups low salt chicken broth

1. combine minced rosemary, cream and lemon zest in a small, sealable container. Whip with a fork for about 1 minute, until whipping cream just begins to thicken and froth. Cover and chill.

2. Melt butter in a heavy, large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, rosemary and crushed red pepper. Cook about 5 minutes, until onion is tender.

3. Add tomatoes, bay leaf and broth. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for about 40 minutes.

4. Discard bay leaf. Puree with immersion blender or transfer in batches to a blender. Can be made ahead and reheated. Serve with a drizzle of lemon rosemary cream.