Foster’s Market, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is an institution. Since my parents live nearby, we’ve started a tradition of going to Foster’s for breakfast on Sunday mornings. We love their herb biscuits with bacon, egg, and cheese; pancakes with fruit toppings; biscuits and gravy; bear claws; bread pudding; and lots more.
Sara Foster has written three cookbooks and they’re all excellent. This recipe for lemon curry roasted chicken offers a great variation on a classic Sunday night supper, and the exotic, perfumed curry paste comes together in minutes. Be absolutely sure to serve this with rice, or mashed potatoes, or some kind of bread, because you’ll want something to sop up all the delicious gravy from the bottom of the pan.
Lemon-curry roasted chicken
Adapted from Fresh Every Day by Sara Foster
1 3- to 3 1/2-pound chicken
2 lemons, halved
1 apple, halved and cored
2 cinnamon sticks
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup curry powder
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 tablespoon sea salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
Leaves from 6 to 7 fresh thyme or lemon thyme sprigs (about 2 tablespoons)
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Remove the giblets and loose fat from the cavity of the chicken. Rinse the chicken inside and out and pat it dry with paper towels. Place the chicken, breast side up, on a roasting rack set inside a large roasting pan or ovenproof skillet. Squeeze the juice from the lemons over the chicken and inside the cavity. Place 2 of the squeezed lemon halves, the apple halves, and cinnamon sticks in the cavity of the chicken and place the remaining lemon halves in the bottom of the pan.
3. Stir the olive oil, curry powder, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and thyme together in a small bowl to make a paste. massage the paste into the skin of the chicken and let the chicken sit 20 to 30 minutes at room temperature to marinate before cooking.
4. Pour the broth and wine around the chicken and roast for 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 25 minutes, basting frequently, until the juices run clear when the chicken is pierced with a knife in the thickest part of the thigh or an instant-read thermometer inserted into that point registers 170 to 175 degrees F. Add a cupful of water or wine to the pan if it gets dry. Let the chicken rest for 10 to 15 minutes before carving.
I LOOOOOOOOVE curry roasted chicken… and I know it sounds weird, but I love to dip it in a little curry aioli… SO so so good! This just reminded me that I want to make some more! Your chicken looks gorgeous!
[...] “Sites We Love”! I’m so honored, and humbled, and pleased. Specifically, my lemon-curry roasted chicken was chosen as “Best of the Web,” which is fantastic, since that is, without a doubt, my [...]
Fosters market in Durham NC has bear claws on Saturdays I must have the recipie or I will burst into flames.
This chicken is amazing…on the grill! I discovered this wonderfulness on accident really. It was really hot outside and we don’t have A/C, so I decided to forego the oven roasting and, instead, butterflied the chicken, squeezed the lemon over, mixed the marinade and rubbed the chicken and let it set for the 20 minutes. Then I seared it breast side down on the grill at about 450 for 10 minutes, turned it over and cut the middle burner. Moved the chicken over the middle unlit burner and continued to cook about 25-35 minutes and it was the best roast chicken I’ve ever had in my life. I’ve made this one in the oven before and it is pretty darn delicious, but on the grill…OMG! Thanks for the recipe!