Roasted Spatchcocked Chicken with Rosemary, Thyme, and Lemon

Recipe by Catherine Pla

Serves 4-6

Roasted Spatchcocked Chicken with and Rosemary, Thyme, and Lemon

I love rosemary with chicken. Yes, you can buy this at Trader Joe’s, but it’s cheaper and very easy to make it yourself at home. I never roast a whole chicken any more; spatchcocking cuts the cooking time in half.

• 1 whole roasting chicken, patted dry

• 3 T extra virgin olive oil

• 1 t kosher salt

• 1⁄2 t ground black pepper

• 2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

• 3 sprigs rosemary, minced

• 2 sprigs thyme, stripped and minced

• 1 t lemon zest

• 1 lb small roasting potatoes, halved or quartered if large

• 1 head of broccoli, stems peeled and chunked, florets cut into large pieces (optional)

• Chopped parsley, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, use convection setting if you have it.

In a small bowl, combine olive oil, garlic, rosemary, thyme, lemon zest, salt and pepper.

Spatchcock the chicken: place chicken on a work surface with the backbone up. Using a knife or kitchen shears, cut along either side of the backbone. Remove it, and save for making chicken stock or discard. Turn chicken so that the skin side is up. Open up the chicken like a book and flatten. Place chicken flat on a sheet pan. Rub the oil/herb mixture all over the chicken. Add potatoes to the pan and broccoli, if using. Drizzle vegetables with a little olive oil and salt and pepper.

Transfer pan to the oven and roast chicken, uncovered for 30-40 minutes, or until the internal temperature at the thigh registers 160. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cutting board. Tent with foil and let rest 10 minutes.

Cut chicken into 8 pieces, sprinkle with chopped parsley. Garnish with lemon slices, or rosemary and thyme sprigs.