There nothing quite like a roast chicken for a delicious family meal and we made this one super simple.
With just 4 ingredients you will have the most flavorful chicken and side that everyone will love. All you need to add is a little quinoa to make it a family feast.
4 Ingredient Zaatar Lemon Roast Chicken
Most chefs recommend cooking your chicken in a roasting rack, but if you don’t have one we like to create our own with carrots. Feel free to add more veggies to the pan, celery and onions both add flavor and nutrition to your dinner.Vegetarian option: Make lots of zaatar roasted carrots with lemon and add lentils or chickpeas to make the meal more filling.
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 400kcal
Ingredients
- 12 carrots cut into quarters lengthwise
- 1 whole whole chicken about 3 ½ pounds
- 3 tablespoons za'atar
- 2 lemons Juice and zest of 1 lemon plus 1 whole lemon cut in half
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450℉. Place carrots to line the bottom of a large baking sheet or pan. Rinse the chicken thoroughly. Pat dry and either place on a roasting rack or directly on top of the carrots. Mix zaatar, zest and juice of lemon in a small bowl.
- Use your hands to thoroughly rub the chickens inside the cavity and out with the zaatar mixture. Stuff the other lemon into the cavity of the chicken. Tuck the wings under the body of the chicken tie the legs together (this will help keep the shape a little nicer).
- Roast the chicken for 20 minutes at high heat. Turn down the oven temperature to 250℉ and slow roast until a thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 160℉ ( about 1 hour). Remove from the oven and loosely cover with foil. Allow the chickens to rest before carving.
- To carve the chicken, (You CAN do this part!) cut the string off of the chicken and remove the vegetables and lemon. Cut down the center along the breast bone on both sides. Remove the breast bone. Pull the chicken apart slightly to expose the back bone. Cut along both sides of the backbone and remove it. Cut the bird into quarters and place a serving platter with the carrots.
Notes
Nutrition information for chicken without skin (see below).
Nutrition information for chicken with quinoa - 640 cals, 23 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 130 mg cholesterol, 570 mg sodium, 53 g carbohydrate, 11 g fiber, 11 g sugar, 56 g protein
Nutrition
Calories: 400kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 48g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 130mg | Sodium: 305mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 10g
Black Quinoa with Tahini
You can use any kind of quinoa for this dish, but the black feels more elegant and special for a weekend meal, plus if you haven’t tried it yet, you should, it tastes much different from the more common brown one and many people prefer it.
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 240kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup black quinoa rinsed well
- 1/2 cup chopped herbs of choices parsley, mint, basil, cilantro
- 2 green onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons tahini mixed with 2 tablespoons each lemon juice and water
Instructions
- Combine quinoa with water, bring to a boil, simmer, covered over low heat for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit covered for another 10 minutes.
- Stir in chopped herbs and scallions, drizzle olive oil, stir and taste for salt and pepper.
- Serve with tahini drizzled over top.
Nutrition
Serving: 1/2 cup | Calories: 240kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 170mg | Fiber: 4g
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