Monday, March 30, 2009

Roasted Chicken & Veggies


This is my new, favorite comfort food. It's quick, easy, one-dish and I get to eat all sorts of different veggies at one meal. Plus...roasting brings out the sweet qualities in a vegetable, something that has not been lost on either my daughter or husband. I do keep the skin on my chicken, so...this isn't a low-fat dish*. I also use chicken thighs as they are generally cheaper and a moister meat.

INGREDIENTS:
Chicken pieces: Thighs, legs, breasts or any combination, though they will cook more evenly if you use the same body part.
Any combination of vegetables. For the picture above I used:
- sweet potato - cubed
- purple cauliflower
- fennel bulb - chopped
- yellow zuccini - chopped
- green bell pepper - chopped
Lemon juice
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Garlic powder
Onion powder

I use a clay baking pan, but any pyrex baking dish will do. Be sure to oil the pyrex dish first.

Lay chicken bottom-side up on the pan and squeeze about a quarter of a lemon on top of it. Season liberally with freshly ground salt and pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. Turn over and repeat with lemon and seasoning.

I don't measure my veggies. I cut and spread on the pan until I have a nice mix of colors. Then drizzle them with oil and season with salt and pepper. Sometimes I'll add lemon juice. Once you figure out how many veggies you'll be using, you could put them in a separate bowl, drizzle with oil, add lemon juice, a couple cloves of minced fresh garlic (Mmmm...much better than powder), salt and pepper, then add to the chicken.

Bake at 400-degrees for about 15-20 minutes, stir up veggies and continue baking for another 15 or so minutes. Check the chicken and veggies at this point. You'll probably need to cook for an additional 10 minutes depending on the size of the chicken part.

* NOTE: You could remove the skin before baking. Prepare as directed above but instead of coating the top with the seasoning, make a topping of bread crumbs or almond meal:
- allow about 2T per piece of chicken,
- drizzle enough oil to moisten and
- add liberal amounts of seasonings - maybe about 1/8 teaspoon per piece of meat.

Drizzle chicken with lemon juice, then spread about 2-tablespoons of the breading on top of the chicken. Bake as directed.

2 comments:

  1. Looks and sounds delicious, but where do I find purple cauliflower??? (LOVE the colors in the dish)

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  2. I find it at my local, larger grocery store though it isn't always available. Probably larger and/or upscale stores. If you want it...be sure to ask them to carry it.

    Cauliflower also comes in orange and green colors. For those who might be interested, these are not the result of genetic engineering but rather traditional selective breeding. These pigmentations: anthocyanin (the purple), carotenoids (orange) and chlorophyll (green), occur due to effects of the environment: soil nutrients, sunlight and/or temperature.

    The orange cauliflower is a cross between a small mutant orange Canadian cauliflower and a white cauliflower. It is higher in vitamin A/beta-carotene.

    The purple is a result of anthocyanins which develop when the head is exposed to asceptic nutrient soil, direct sunlight and cooler temperatures. It rich in antioxidants.

    Green cauliflower is also a mutant. It is higher in vitamin C, protein and minerals, and contains fewer nitrates and is more aromatic than its white counterpart.

    There are two other green cauliflowers: Romanesco an heirloom variety which has very cool looking lime-green, geometric, turret-like florets and is probably only available at a farmer's market. And
    Broccoflower which is a cross between broccoli and cauliflower. This one is sweeter and more tender than broccoli.

    So...waaayyy more than you ever wanted to know about cauliflower!!

    A.

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Anna