Recipe ~ Simple Lemon-Rosemary Chicken

I usually always use whole chicken legs for this recipe. The skin and bone-in are essential to the dclicious flavor rendered.

Once upon a time, I received a call from my very dear friend Travis (with whom I sushi-chef-catered for the LA Dodgers in 2005 – whole separate story ... ), on a rainy Monday at 6pm. I was watching a Dodgers game, cozy under a blanket. I was busy.

Little backstory - The day before, I had assisted him to cater sushi for a party, welcoming several high-profile Japanese businesspeople to LA. I had invited the only woman in the group to my home for dinner on Tuesday night.

Now, the conversation between Travis and I went something like this.

"We’re all coming to your house tomorrow night, for Italian."

Long pause on my part.

"Ok, first define, ‘we’re all’. And what are you talking about?”

He explained that word got out about my invitation-for-one for Italian dinner at my home. Now everyone wanted to come. About 10 people. I laughed.

“You’ve been to my house, Travis. I don’t even have 10 chairs!”

We spoke a few more minutes and finally I surrendered the entire thing to my angels and gave in.

“All right you know what? Hang up, I have work to do!”

Longer story short, I hosted the group the next night at 8pm, having cooked all day for a client, then raced to shop, prep my table, and finish antipasto, two main courses plus sides, and desserts! I believe there were in fact, about 8 of us. I had enough chairs after all.

We had a blast. They brought Champagne and wine, and stayed until after midnight. Travis told me they were honored beyond measure to be a guest in my home. The honor was all mine.

My point is, I made this chicken, actually dolling it up with white beans and olives to make it go further! You can simply make it as I have in the foto above, just as I make it often here in Italy; the fresh chicken from the butcher is extraordinary. So are local fresh lemons and the wild rosemary just outside!

Last April when Lisa and I were just new residents of Cagli, our sister Suz visited for two weeks, and I made this dish to welcome her. It’s beautiful, comforting, and delicious with creamy mashed potatoes, rice, or even pasta on the side.

Simple Lemon-Rosemary Chicken

Bone-in chicken pieces

Fresh lemon, cut in slices

Fresh sprigs of rosemary

Extra-virgin olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

White wine

Preheat oven to 375F, and lightly coat a baking dish with olive oil.

Loosen skin of chicken pieces, and insert a slice or two of lemon, and a small sprig or two of rosemary. Place chicken pieces in baking dish, drizzle with a bit of olive oil, and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Tuck additional lemon slices and rosemary sprigs between chicken pieces if you’d like.

Roast in oven for about 30 minutes, then pour a little white wine over and around the chicken to finish roasting. After an additional 15-20 minutes, the internal temperature ought to read 165F for doneness, else continue roasting until 165F.

Skin ought to be crispy and lightly browned.  Serve with any pan juices, and enjoy!