A few months ago while talking with a friend about her upcoming wedding, she mentioned 'the engagement chicken' and asked if I had made it yet. I had remembered reading about it in Glamour Magazine briefly but never tore out the recipe.
The story goes....a few staffers at Glamour Magazine had made this roasted chicken recipe by Barefoot Contessa and soon after they were engaged. Word started to spread and a few others made this recipe with the same results, engaged!! So the story was published in Glamour Magazine along with the recipe.
I had never made a roasted chicken but always wanted to try. I am in a serious relationship and thought.....why not try the engagement chicken recipe - cant hurt! I may have shot myself in the foot actually telling my boyfriend the name of the recipe - but the results were amazing and we had a wonderful dinner together. Now......just waiting to see the results :)
Ready for the oven
A yummy roasted chicken.
Oh, and my super cute new apron from Anthropologie.
Engagement Roast ChickenBy: Ina Garten / The Barefoot ContessaIngredients
- 1 (4 to 5 pound) roasting chicken
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 lemons
- 1 whole head garlic, cut in 1/2 crosswise
- Good olive oil
- 2 Spanish onions, peeled and thickly sliced
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (mine was gluten-free)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.Remove and discard the chicken giblets. Pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Cut the lemons in quarters, place 2 quarters in the chicken along with the garlic and reserve the rest of the lemons. Brush the outside of the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle the chicken 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 by 14-inch) roasting pan. (If the pan is too large, the onions will burn.) Place the reserved lemons and the sliced onions in a large 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 in the pan.Roast the 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, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 10 minutes while you prepare the sauce, leaving the lemons and onions in the pan.Place the pan on top of the stove and turn the heat to medium-high. 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 under the chicken. Carve the chicken onto a platter and serve with the lemons, onions, and warm sauce.
