Lemon Chicken With Croutons

Halloween is over for another year. Thank heavens. The trouble with importing festivals from other parts of the world, is that the weather here often won't co-operate with you. Friday afternoon was spent wandering the streets with the younger darling daughter in 35C heat (95F). She was dressed up in a big heavy costume, when she really should have been at the beach in her swimmers. Melted chocolates, gooey lollies... but none of this worried her. She told me it was the best halloween ever.

So now it is time to get back to grown up food. This recipe comes from "Barefoot in Paris" by Ina Garten, and in the usual Barefoot style, it is not difficult to make, and it is very delicious to eat. Crunchy croutons soak up the juice of the chicken as well as giving a wonderful texture contrast. If you are interested, you can actually watch a video of Ina making it here. You might be wondering why I would make a Barefoot recipe outside of my Barefoot Blogger commitments, and the simple answer is that some recipes scream out to be tried, and this is one of them.

Lemon Chicken With Croutons

from "Barefoot in Paris" by Ina Garten

1 chicken

1 large brown onion, sliced

Olive oil

2 lemons, quartered

2 tbls unsalted butter, melted

4 cups bread cubes (use a good quality sourdough or something similar)

Preheat the oven to 215C. Wash the chicken and pat dry. Toss the onion with some olive oil in a roasting pan. Place the chicken on top. Place the lemons inside the chicken. Brush the chicken with the melted butter and season well with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string.

Roast for 1 1/4 hours to 1 1/2 hours, or until the chicken is cooked. Remove from the oven and rest the chicken covered with foil for 15 minutes. Don't be concerned if the onions are very brown - their flavour is great.

Heat a large pan with 2 tbls of olive oil until very hot. Lower the temperature to medium low and saute the bread cubes tossing frequently until they are browned all over. Add more oil if you need to. Season the croutons, and place on a serving platter. Slice the chicken and sit it on the crouton bed. Pour over any extra pan juices and serve.