Ingredients
- 3 1/2 to 4-pound whole chicken
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper, divided
- 5 cups arugula
- 7 cloves garlic, peeled and divided
- 1 lemon, halved
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- 1/2 cup shelled pistachios
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
- 3/4 teaspoon cornstarch
- 3/4 cup half-and-half
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Rinse the chicken under cold water and pat dry. Slip your fingers under the breast skin and gently create a pocket the length of both breasts. Season the inside of the cavity with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Set aside.
Add the arugula and 5 cloves of the garlic to a food processor fitted a blade. Pulse 3 to 4 times, then add 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper, squeeze in the juice of 1/2 lemon and pulse 3 to 4 more times. Add the cheese and pistachios, and with the processor running, drizzle in the olive oil. Scrape down sides and pulse a few more times. Adjust seasoning, if necessary.
Gently work half of the pesto under the breast skin. Reserve the other half of the pesto. Put the other lemon half into the cavity along with the remaining 2 peeled garlic cloves. Rub the chicken all over with 1 tablespoon of the butter. Season the outside of the chicken with the remaining salt and pepper. Tuck the wing tips under the bird, and truss the chicken. Put the chicken, on its side, into a roasting pan and put in hot oven. Roast at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes, rotate chicken onto other side, and roast for 15 minutes more. Carefully turn chicken onto its back (breast side up), reduce heat to 350 degrees F and roast for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, begin basting it with the pan juices. Repeat until chicken is done and an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees F.
Remove the roasting pan from the oven, put the chicken on a carving board and tent it with foil. Remove the fat on the top of the pan juices. Put the roasting pan over a burner on medium heat and add 1/3 cup of the reserved pesto. Stir and incorporate it into the pan juices along with any bits that might be on the bottom of the pan. Whisk the cornstarch and the half-and-half in a small bowl and slowly add it to the pan. Stir continually until the mixture starts to thicken. Adjust seasonings, if necessary, and pour it into a serving bowl.
Carve the chicken, arrange it on a serving platter and serve with the sauce.
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By 1chetta2
on December 23, 2012
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This is delicious! I have made it three times already. I prefer using chicken thighs. I am not a fan of baking a chicken whole.
By irish665
on July 28, 2012
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This is an awesome recipe I cooked many times. It's my family's favorite!! So easy and soooooo good. I've made it exactly as the recipe says and once in a hurry, I used a jarred basil pesto. That turned out to be just as good.
By Cheryl B from K...
Kankakee, Illinois
on April 29, 2012
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This is an easy and fabulous tasting dish, the chicken melted in your mouth (my first organic chicken-and not at all a disappointment, worth every penny, and the sauce...ahh, the sauce. I used flour to make a rue, then used white wine to scrape the bits of chicken yumminess off of the pan that the chicken roasted in. The pesto was blended with that and I used half and half to thin it out, and a daub of butter for, well...just because. Don't bother to tell me how unhealthy this was, because I don't do this type of sauce making often. I have to say to all of the nay sayers of my sauce, this was without a doubt the best I have ever made, so very simply too.
Anyway, this recipe was amazing, and come this summer, I will do this on the grill using the pesto under the skin and a lemon stuffed inside, but in a "Beer Butt Chicken " pan using white wine as the liquid..I can't wait,because this pesto alone will make any chicken dish amazing!! Thank You Guy!!!!!
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