We are a chicken family. I’m telling you, we eat so much we may start clucking soon and I’m totally okay with that. My husband and I share a love for cooking and eating, so it’s not rare for him to jump into the kitchen on any given night to try out a recipe he found. Not long ago, he did just this and thinking about it is making my mouth water. He reluctantly told me he was watching Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa and saw her make a delicious roasted rustic chicken with croutons. The way he was raving about it you would think Ina invited him over for it herself. After making fun of him for a good 10 minutes for watching her show, I let him do his thing.
Holy.Shit.WOW! This was one of the best roasted chicken dishes I have ever had and I force him to make as much as I can. We have talked this dish up so much that family members are now requesting him to make it. The juicy chicken lays on top the croutons and they just soak up all the delicious lemon & herby goodness. It is so easy and packed full of flavor that you will devour the entire chicken. I kid you not. He put his own spin on the recipe by adding more herbs and spices and it really made this rustic chicken killer!
Roasted Rustic Chicken with Sourdough Croutons
- 3-4 lb Whole Roasting Chicken
- 2 Lemons, quartered
- 2-3 TBS Butter, softened
- 1 sprig fresh Rosemary or 1 TBS of dried
- 1 TBS Garlic Powder
- 1 TBS Onion Powder
- 1 TBS Paprika
- 1 TBS Pepper
- 1 TBS Thyme
- 1-2 TBS Salt
- 2 TBS Olive Oil
- 1/2 Sourdough Bread Loaf, cut in big cubes (you can use more if you’d like!)
- 1/2 Onion, sliced
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Clean your bird! Soak in salted water for a about 10-15 minutes. Rinse it and pat dry. In a roasting pan or on a cutting board, stuff the lemons in the cavity of the chicken. Then rub softened butter all over the skin of the chicken. Layer it on! Sprinkle your spices on generously. You can mix them all together before hand or do one at a time, totally up to you. Layer the sliced onion on the bottom of the pan with one of the two tablespoons of olive oil.
Roast for about 50 minutes or until the chicken is cooked to 165 degrees.
After the chicken is cooked, let rest for about 20 minutes. While the chicken is resting, chop up the sourdough loaf in chunky cubes. In a large pan, coat with one tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat and add the sourdough cubes. Move them around to get toasted on all sides. Layer the sourdough croutons in a serving dish.
Carve the chicken in chunky pieces, you don’t need to be fancy here. That is what makes the Rustic Chicken rustic! Place the chunks on top of the croutons then pour the juices over. Serve with a salad or just by itself, I promise this will get devoured!
– Amanda
