Crispy Spring Chicken with Basil Pan Sauce

You know what I like about chicken? Just when you think it is getting boring, you find a new recipe or eat a new dish that impresses you and makes you love it all over again. Is that just me? Regardless, you may want to take notes here because this week I had one of those "aha" moments after trying out a great new chicken recipe that I adapted from here: crispy roast chicken with a divine herb sauce. This is one of these meals that is, in both looks and preparation, extremely simple. Yet somehow, the taste of this chicken, when doused with fresh herbs and spices, felt like it belonged straight out of a plate in the French countryside - simple yet exquisite.

There are a few things to keep in mind if you want to make this recipe. First, you will want to buy a whole chicken and quarter it yourself, or buy one that is already quartered. I quartered a whole one I had at home, and if this scares you (it scared me), you might find this video helpful (you can ignore the very first step where he cuts off the wing tips). Second, you will want to let the chicken come to room temperature before roasting by leaving it on the counter for 1 hour. I set myself a reminder in my online calendar a night before so that I would get an alert and remember to do this.

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds), quartered, at room temperature
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup packed basil
1/2 cup packed parsley
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes (to taste)
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey

Directions:

1. An hour before baking, remove chicken from fridge, quarter it, and let it rest on therimmed baking sheet you will roast it on.
2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 
3. Pat chicken dry really well with paper towels. Rub chicken with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil; season liberally all over with salt and pepper. Arrange, skin-side up on pan and roast until golden on the top rack of the oven (or until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast (without touching bone) registers 160 degrees), about 35 minutes. 
4. Meanwhile, make the sauce. Using a food processor, pulse the basil, parsley, garlic, red pepper flakes, red wine vinegar, and honey. Slowly add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and puree until smooth (this can take 1-2 minutes, you are aiming for the consistency of pesto). 
5. When the chicken finishes roasting, let it rest for 10-15 minutes before serving.
6. After the chicken has rested, put the basil sauce into a bowl and add any drippings that you can spoon out from the chicken pan. Mix well. Spoon the sauce over the chicken pieces just before serving.

Secret Green Bean Dipping Sauce:
This is a sauce my family has been making for years. My mom learned how to make it when she was a waitress in a Japanese restaurant. Sounds weird but it's great! Just combine the below ingredients to taste.

Mayonnaise 
Soy sauce
Sesame seeds (optional) 

 

The original recipe I used said to pour the basil sauce onto the pan itself, mix it with the chicken's natural juices, then let the chicken rest on top of it. This worked well but it was a bit tricky to scoop up every last bit of the delicious sauce from the pan when it was time to top the chicken. What I recommended above was to keep the sauce separate (optional). 

 

 

Try serving the chicken with tender green beans and my family's "secret" green bean dipping sauce!