Rosemary Apple Chicken
Every Friday night, I roast a chicken. My children are willing to consume any chicken dish as long as it contains fruit. Such is our unspoken agreement.
This past week, I used apples to lure my children to their protein dish. The combination of rosemary with apples was a natural pairing and the balsamic vinegar, which caramelized during roasting, sweetly permeated the entire chicken.
As I served this up to my family and asked how they liked it, my younger son exclaimed, "Mommy, it's AMAZING!" Needless to say, I'm quite happy with the outcome of this little experiment, which yielded good results on the very first try.
1 chicken (2 to 3 pounds)
¼ cup grapeseed oil
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon celtic sea salt
4 apples, cored and sliced
4 sprigs rosemary
- Rinse the chicken, pat dry with a paper towel and place in a 9x12 inch glass baking dish
- Drizzle with oil and vinegar, then sprinkle with salt
- Arrange the apples around the chicken in the baking dish
- Place the sprigs of rosemary under the chicken
- Bake at 350° for 90 minutes, until browned on the outside
- Serve
Serves 6
This delicious fruited chicken dish is great for guests, providing warm soft apples as comfort food along with a good dose of protein - all in one dinner.
Posted on November 4, 2007 in entrees by Elana
you might also like: Balsamic Roasted Turkey with Apple Stuffing
or Chicken with Cherries and Kale
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22 comments
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Hi Elana!
You inspired me to make a version of this rosemary apple chicken tonight for dinner and it was a huge hit! My fiancé even said that he thinks it belongs in a restaurant :)
I ended up with a slightly larger chicken - 4.5 lbs - since I wanted leftovers. A few hours before cooking, I destemmed 1-2 sprigs of rosemary and let them marinate in some extra virgin olive oil. I later added salt and pepper to the mixture.
After washing the chicken, I separated the skin from the muscle and slathered the rosemary/oil mixture in this area. This way, if I take off the skin (which I do for most of the chicken), there is still flavor on the meat. I also put another sprig in the cavity - I wasn't sure what you meant by under the chicken.
Instead of using a pyrex lasagna-style dish or roasting pan, I arranged the chicken breast-side down in my Circulon dutch oven. I put the apples around the chicken, but next time will cut them thicker to discourage disintegration. I cooked it covered at a slightly lower temperature, and only uncovered it for the last 30 minutes of cooking, which resulted in crispy skin and juicy, moist chicken.
I am so happy with the results. This dish will definitely be made again during Pesach, possibly for my seder, which my grandparents are flying in for.
In the meantime, I have my leftovers to look forward to:
- a spinach salad with breast meat, fresh pineapple chunks, dried cranberries, and some shredded carrots and apples (I love colorful salads)
- my Pumpkin chicken skillet, based off of Gluten-Free Mommy's pumpkin chicken tortillas (but I try to limit my corn-intake so my version tops the filling on baked sweet potatoes. Yumm!
Thanks again!
Hi M- Great to hear from you again. I am glad that you and your fiance liked this dish and enjoyed hearing about the twists you added to it --love the idea of serving this for Pesach, I might just have to do that myself!
Elana
Unfortunately, I momentarily forgot about the balsamic when I made my comment about Pesach; no vinegar is allowed. But it will be great the rest of the year, especially for Shabbat dinners.
M- Yes, I completely spaced on that too. Hmm, I wonder what we could use for this instead of the vinegar. It would make such a nice main dish for a festive Pesach meal. if I think of anything I'll let you know. Likewise, keep me posted if you get a good idea for a vinegar substitute...
Elana
Hmm, what about lemon or lime juice - another acid? It might not taste as sweet, but it would also tenderize the meat. When I make my turkey, I put lemons and lemon juice under the skin (like others do with butter) and achieve the same effect and the meat does not taste lemony, at least to me.
~M, I think this is a great idea. I think for Pesach I would use some lemon juice and maybe a tablespoon of agave to replace the sweetness of the balsamic. Thanks for all of your comments and ideas!
Elana
Hi Elana,
Besides apples and peaches, what other fruit have you roasted alongside your poultry? I'm trying to come up with an option that would be in season now, but am drawing blanks.
Thanks!
Hi M, I am currently working on a recipe for roasted chicken with oranges.
Also, Claudia Roden (my favorite cookbook author --she is an Egyptian Jew and has amazing Sephardic recipes) has some good recipes using Morrocan salted lemons with chicken. I love her book, Arabesque.
Balsamic vinegar is made from wine and is therefore not chometz. Vinegars that are grain-based are the problem.
Bartenura makes a kosher for passover one that is probably available in most supermarkets around this time of year.
I use it alot on Pesach!
Sarah --Yes a kosher l'pesach balsamic would work very well in turning this into a Passover dish. Thanks for the clarification/suggestion!
and does the apple contribute any of its flavour to the chicken just sitting beside it in the oven?
Jenny -- The combination of rosemary, apples and balsamic vinegar sweetly permeates the entire chicken as mentioned in the description of the recipe in the post above.
Elana,
I just started cooking. As a husband for the past 10 years, I finally discovered cooking. This chicken seems great and I am typing this while the chicken is cooling. I am pretty sure the kids will love it too. The only thing was using a 9x13 pan, where all the apples didn't fit nor didn't get covered with the juice. Should have listened to my wife and baste.
Doron,
Nothing better than a cooking husband! Yes, if you used a bigger size chicken than called for in the recipe or had very large apples, then I suppose it all wouldn't have fit in the recommended baking dish --was that the problem?
I hope you, the kids and wife enjoyed it and thanks for your comment.
Elana
Elana,
I am sure the size of the chicken or apples was a factor here. Nothing better than learning from experience.
Doron
Thanks for your comments Doron!
Reviewing over old comments to get inspired for poultry, I really like the idea of a lime-agave chicken! Maybe with a pinch of cinnamon or another warm spice. Like Karina's amazing lime-agave-cinnamon salmon. Then again, anything lime wins thumbs up from me :)
~M,
I think a lime-agave chicken sounds amazing. I'll put it on my list.
Elana
Elana--just made this tonight and it was perfect: tender, juicy, sweet and salty. This is definitely going to be a favorite. Plus, I loved all the comments on this post and will have to try a lime-agave roast chicken too.
It was so good and tender that I had to run down the street to my mom's to let her have a taste too. She gave it two thumbs up.
I'm spending the next five days with my family at our annual cabin retreat. We play in the snow, watch lots of movies and eat. I'm taking lots of my own treats and good, allergy-free food--thanks to your inspired recipes and I can't wait to share them with the rest of the family who thinks I'm deprived because of what I can't eat. I love your attitude of abundance and deliciousness.
Hi Eden,
I love the part of this comment where you describe running down the street to your mother's. Can I go on the family retreat with you? Sounds restful and delicious.
Have fun!
xo Elana
Elana,
Just had to tell you that I recommended this recipe for at least the 100th time since I first discovered it. I've served this at dinner parties, passed it along to my best friends, and taken it as part of a meal to a mother with a new baby. Every time your recipe gets rave reviews. And right now, I'm planning on making it again this weekend for another friend. Just thought you would want to know. I share so many of your recipes and I love that they are simple and delicious. You've made my life the much more delectable with each of them. Thanks!
This was my first attempt at ever cooking an entire chicken and I did it without the support and help of my Home-Ec teacher mom. I was so proud of myself; it turned out to be super easy and came out wonderfully. Thank you for creating delicious gluten free recipes that both myself (who needs gluten free) and my boyfriend (who loves his gluten) can enjoy together.