Roasted Chicken with Orange and Rosemary

I love chicken dishes. I love finding new ways of inventing a chicken dish into something exciting. It's so easy to get bored with chicken and for us, chicken is one of our main proteins we get as a family so it's important that we don't get bored with it.

Originally this recipe was a combination of two different recipes. I first flagged this recipe in one of my Food and Wine cookbooks. But then Rachael Ray did a similar recipe on her show and I wanted to combine both of their ideas into one recipe that worked for the flavors and ingredients I already had on hand. Luckily, the ingredients were very similar pantry staples that I always have on hand.

The Food and Wine cookbook called for a whole chicken to roast (which I didn't want to do) and for nectarines (which aren't in season right now) and Rachael Ray's recipe called for naval and blood oranges and for bone in cuts of chicken, which I had stashed a few leftover pieces of fryer chicken cuts from back when I made my Chicken and Dumplings recipe, and I added a a few pieces of chicken breast to the dish too.

In a matter of about ten minutes, dinner was prepped and in the oven and soon my whole house smelled like citrusy chicken. Actually, it smelled like someone had opened a window and let spring into my home, which was such a welcome aroma since it had been raining. 

This chicken dish is so flavorful and bright and was such a wonderful way of taking some of the flavors of the in-season produce and letting them shine. This recipe was a hit and both Josh and the girls agreed that they would love for me to make this again and again! 

Roasted Chicken with Oranges and Rosemary

Source: Adapted from Rachael Ray

4-8 pieces of bone in chicken cuts or boneless skinless chicken breast

kosher salt

Extra vigin olive oil for drizzling

Black pepper

2 navel oranges, 1 sliced, the juiced

2 blood oranges, 1 sliced, the other juiced

3-4 stems rosemary, finely chopped

6 bay leaves

1 tsp red pepper

1 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup honey

Wash and dry chicken and sprinkle with kosher salt and refrigerate for a few hours. 

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.  In a roasting pan or casserole dish, toss sliced oranges and bay leaves with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, and push oranges to the sides of the dish, making room for the chicken. Drizzle the chicken with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle the red pepper, rosemary, salt and pepper over the chicken. Pour the white wine into the dish, along with the juice of the oranges and pour the honey over the chicken and around the dish. 

Roast for 45 minutes until the juices run clear. Serve the chicken with the oranges, with the pan juices spooned over.