THIS IS KIND OF AN EMERGENCY SPECIAL OCCASION DISH. IT LOOKS FESTIVE, AND BECAUSE IT’S A ONE-POT RECIPE, IT’S SUPER EASY.
It was inspired by a dear friend and amazing chef Emery Chapman. She’s a food artist, in my opinion. She creates beautiful, wholesome dishes. You’ll see what I mean by checking out her site at www.chefemery.com.
Like most, I’ve cooked chicken roasts in every savory form: with variations of garlic, lemon, dill, rosemary, thyme, stock and wine. But never with oranges and cranberries. So when I saw Emery’s version, I was intrigued and had to make my own.
You can take liberties with this recipe. Add/subtract anything. Experiment. Be daring.
HERE’S MY TAKE:
INGREDIENTS:
*You will need an oven safe pot to cook the chicken in.
- 1 whole organic chicken
- 1 large apple, sliced (I leave the peel on)
- 1 large orange, sliced (I leave the peel on)
- Juice of half an orange
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 2 tablespoons of dried cranberries
- 2-3 sprigs thyme
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1 large onion washed, peeled and diced
- 3 carrots peeled and sliced
- 3 celery ribs, diced
- 1/2 to 1 bottle white wine (Yes, I use a lot, but this is optional. You can ditch the wine, if you want.)
- 2 tbsp honey (I use Manuka.)
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp herbs de Provence
- 2 tbsp butter and a bit of olive oil
METHOD:
- Preheat your oven to 400F/205C.
- Wash your chicken and pat it dry.
- Generously season the chicken all over with salt and plenty of pepper, and the herbs de Provence.
- In a large pot, heat the butter and olive oil over a medium heat. Using tongs, lower the chicken in the pot and carefully brown it on all sides.
- Remove chicken from the pot and set aside.
- Add the onions to the same pot and cook until translucent (about 4 minutes). Add the celery, cranberries and carrots and cook for about 2 minutes. Finally add the garlic and cook for about a minute.
- Add the thyme and rosemary to warm up the herbs.
- Add the chicken back to the pot. Pour in the orange juice. Add the apple and orange slices around the chicken.
- Carefully, pour the wine around the chicken. Turn the heat up to a boil, and immediately back down to a simmer. Cook until the alcohol evaporates (i.e. you won’t smell the alcohol anymore).
- Drizzle the top of the chicken with honey. Place the rosemary and thyme on top of the chicken (you don’t have to, but it looks nice).
- Cover the pot with foil. Place in the oven. Cook for one and a half hours (possibly a little longer, depending on the size of the chicken). To check, prick a fork or knife between the leg and the breast. If the juices run clear, the chicken is done.
- Remove from oven and let it rest. Serve with your fave veg or a salad!
SAVORY SOUNDS
And don’t forget, I have plenty of foot-stomping beats to cook along with. Check out my song lists at Savory Sounds!
