This recipe for Rosemary Chicken with Potatoes is quite common in the Umbria and Tuscan regions of Italy. This whole roasted chicken recipe is flavored with rosemary, lemon, fresh garlic, olives and olive oil!
toothpicks or skewers to secure the incisions closed during roasting
Ingredients
6lbwhole chickeninsides removed
3lbpotatoespeeled and cut into bite-size pieces
8clovesgarlicfresh; halved
2handfulsfresh rosemary
10black olivesabout a handful
1lemon
½cupolive oilor, as needed
3tspsaltor, as needed
½tspblack pepperor, as needed
Instructions
Prep the Herbs and Aromatics
Cut 7 of the garlic cloves in half (or in quarters if the cloves are really large). Cut the lemon in half. Mince a few tablespoons of the rosemary with 1 clove of garlic and a teaspoon of fine salt.
2 handfuls fresh rosemary, 3 tsp salt
Prep the Chicken
Place the chicken in a roasting pan. Massage the entire skin of the chicken with half of the lemon.
1 lemon, 6 lb whole chicken
Using a knife or kitchen scissors, make small incisions around the whole chicken anywhere the meat needs to be flavored including the thighs, the legs, the breasts.
½ cup olive oil
Use a finger to loose the skin from the meat, providing a space to add herbs and spices. Beneath each incision, add a bit of the minced rub, a half a clove of garlic, a sprig of rosemary and a bit of olive oil.
Add the following inside the chicken cavity: the other half of the lemon, some rub, the rest of the garlic cloves, a tablespoon of olive oil, a handful of black olives, salt and pepper.
10 black olives
Rub salt and pepper generously on the outside of the chicken skin.
½ tsp black pepper
Pin the cuts closed with toothpicks or metal skewers to prevent the meat from drying out.
Let the chicken marinate like this overnight or at least 8 hours.
Roast the Chicken
Add a few more teaspoons of salt and pepper to the skin Generously coat the chicken skin with extra virgin olive oil.
Add one cup of filtered water to the bottom of the pan.
Then, cover the chicken tightly with foil. The water in the bottom of the pan will provide the moisture the chicken needs to remain juicy as it cooks.
Roast the chicken in a pre-heated oven: 485° F (250° C). For a 6 lb chicken, you'll need to roast the chicken about 3 hours. Be sure to check for doneness.
After an hour in the oven, flip the chicken and add a half a cup more of water to the bottom of the pan.
Cover again with foil and return to the oven for another hour.
When the skin has begun to brown (after about 2 hours for our chicken size), remove the foil and roast uncovered for another hour or so.
Flip the chicken every 15 minutes for even crispy skin throughout the chicken.
Roast the Potatoes
Peel and cut the potatoes into bite-size pieces. Soak the potatoes in water for 2 hours to remove starch on the outside of the potatoes.
3 lb potatoes
Dry the potatoes and transfer them to a roasting pan.
Toss the potatoes generously in extra-virgin olive oil. DO NOT SALT AT THIS TIME.
Roast the potatoes uncovered in a 485° F (250° C) oven for about 45 minutes.
After 20 minutes, toss the potatoes. Add a few pinches of salt and a few sprigs of fresh rosemary. Return to the oven to finish roasting.
Buon appetito!
Video
Notes
For crispy potatoes?Never salt the potatoes at the beginning. If you salt at the beginning, you will pull water from the middle of the potatoes to the outside, leaving the potatoes dry on the inside and moist on the outside—not what we want! After peeling and chopping potatoes, soak them in filtered water for about an hour to remove starch from the outside. Dry and toss the potatoes with olive oil. Bake them for 20 minutes. Stir them, then add the salt, any fresh herbs and a bit more olive oil. Finish roasting them for 20-25 more minutes until golden and crispy.