Oven roasted chicken stuffed with fresh herbs, lemon and garlic.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Roughly chop the shallots, serrano, and one clove of the garlic. If you don’t have a food processor you can finely chop all of the ingredients by hand.
Cut the rest of the head of garlic in half and reserve to stuff in the chicken later.
Zest and juice 1/2 of the lemon and add to the food processor. Make sure to keep the lemon as it will be used to stuff the chicken later as well. Next, roughly chop the cilantro. Add the cilantro, ground coriander, salt, pepper, honey and olive to the food processor. Puree for a minute or two until you achieve a fine paste. Scrape down the sides if needed.
Note: This makes enough paste for two chickens. If you are only making one chicken, put half of the paste aside. It makes a delicious base for a salad dressing. You just need to add a touch more honey and oil.
Spray your roasting pan and V-rack with non-stick spray and set aside.
Gently slide your fingers between the meat and the skin. Try not to tear the skin; you are just trying to loosen the skin enough to slide the paste in underneath.
Generously season the inside of the chicken with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity of the chicken with remaining lemon and garlic.
Next, pour some of the paste in between the skin and the meat, using your fingers to distribute underneath. Rub the chicken with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Place the chicken onto the V-rack and place into the oven to roast.
After about 30 minutes, add the chicken stock and baste the chicken.
At the one hour mark, baste the chicken again and check to see how dark the skin is getting. The paste makes the chicken brown quicker, so if it gets too dark, simply cover it with foil before placing back into the oven.
Depending on the size of your chicken, it will take 1 1/2 to 2 hours to cook. When checking the chicken, try not to puncture the meat more than you need to; otherwise, the juices will escape. To check the chicken, look to see if there is any pink color left between the leg and the breast. If so, the chicken is not quite ready. Once the chicken is cooked through, remove it from the roasting pan. Loosely cover with foil and let rest for at least 20 minutes.
To make the sauce, first pour off the juices and fat from the roasting pan. Skim off the fat using a ladle or fat separator. Reserve the juices.
Over medium-high heat, add some stock or white wine to the roasting pan to deglaze. Strain the deglazed liquid and the reserved juices from the resting chicken into a saucepan. Bring the sauce to a quick boil, and season with salt and pepper, if necessary. Pour into a gravy boat to serve with the chicken.
Carve, platter the chicken and enjoy!
This dish is fresh and bold, it is great in the summertime on the barbeque. It is even nice served warm on a salad for a light meal.
The cilantro paste can be made ahead of time and will make enough for 2 chickens. If you are only roasting one chicken, you can use the remaining paste to make a delicious salad dressing, just by adding a little vinegar, honey and oil to taste.