Roasted Chicken with Meyer Lemons and Brussel Sprouts

By TLoya

An easy, healthy recipe with no added fats.

Ingredients

• 4 to 6 lb good quality roasting chicken
• Kosher or Coarse Sea Salt
• Crushed garlic
• 1 Meyer Lemon (any kind of lemon will do really) halved
• 10 or more Brussel Sprouts
• 3 or more large carrots' cut in thirds
• 1 large onion' cut in eights
• The following spices; blended together and ground using a mortar and pestle;
• Italian Seasoning
• 1 tsp Rosemary (crushed coarsely
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Salt
• 1/2 tsp dried parsely
• 1/4 tsp basil
• 1/4 tsp oregano

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Sprinkle a very thin layer (not covering the bottom of the pan) of the kosher or coarse sea saltin the bottom of a large roasting pan.

Place a tabelspoon of the blended spices in your left hand (if you're right handed; reverse this operation for lefties) and sprinkle it evenly with your right hand over the salt.

Rinse the chicken in cold water inside and out. Discard any extra fat, and the giblets. Pat dry. Place it legs up; body cavity to you in the middle of the roaster; just like in the picture.

Squeeze half of the Meyer lemon into the body cavity. Squeeze the other half of the lemon across the top of the chicken. Place both squeezed lemons inside the body cavity of the chicken.

Put a piece of the onion inside the body cavity too.
Take a teaspoon or more of the crushed garlic and coat the top of the chicken..using the back of the teaspoon to spread it out somewhat evenly over the top and sides of the chickens breasts, legs, thighs, etc.

Take a teaspoon of the blended spices and sprinkle them over the top of the chicken a little more heavily than you did over the top of the salt.

Place the Carrots around the chicken

Roast for 10 to 12 minutes until the top of the chicken starts to get browned.

Remove from the oven and reduce the heat to 350 degrees.
Place the onion pieces around the chicken. Sprinkle in some more of the spice blend across the vegetables.

Roast for approx 20 minutes more. Remove from oven. Increase heat to 400 degrees.

Place the Brussel Sprouts around the chicken and roast for 30 to 32 minutes.

Cover and let the chicken rest for 15 minutes. Carve the chicken and serve.

You can also deglaze the pan with red wine and add in flour while heating and stirring to make a fine gravy for your chicken and vegetables.
This recipe can be made with a variety of vegetables... potatoes, mushrooms, turnips, etc. Just look up the roasting times of the vegetables you want to add.. and add them in at the appropriate time.

If you're not familiar with roasting; use a meat thermometer the first few times to make sure your chicken is done. Also if you live near sea level your chicken might cook a little quicker than mine does. There are also differences between electric and gas ovens. I have an electric oven... so need to keep my heat lower than if I had a gas oven.