Roasted Organic Chicken with Moroccan Spices
This recipe was featured in Bon Appétit, January 2005 issue. They reference The Spice House for the ingredient Ras El Hanout. *Ras El Hanout is a Moroccan style curry blend. Roughly translated, it means "top of the shop," and, as such, it contains a great assortment of flavors. Photo by Greg Bell.
Submitted by: Gary from Greenfield, MA
Yield: Makes 4 servings.
Preparation Instructions:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F. Blend first 9 ingredients in blender to moist paste.
Remove neck, giblets, and excess fat from main cavity of chicken. Rinse chicken inside and out; pat dry with paper towels. Rub 1/3 of spice paste into main cavity and neck cavity, then rub remaining spice paste all over outside of chicken. Place lemons and garlic cloves in main cavity of chicken. Tie legs together. Place chicken on rack in roasting pan. Roast 45 minutes; tent with foil to prevent overbrowning.
Continue to roast chicken until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 170°F, about 45 minutes. Transfer chicken to platter; let stand 10 minutes (internal temperature will increase by 5 to 10 degrees).
thespicehouse.com
Best if you use a capon (make chicken). It is a top pick amongst our guests.
A friend made this for us. It is absolutely delicious. Exceptionally moist. It seems that the paste seals in the flavors. Be sure to pierce the lemons as this adds to the flavor and moisture. We make this quite often for company and recieve many compliments. The leftover chicken and drippings contributes a unique flavor to any recipe calling for chicken and/or broth especially chicken noodle soup. Enjoy again and again.