Spiced Roast Chicken with Preserved Lemon

If the break is "Sunday", don't you think it's best not to get complicated on Sundays in the kitchen? Enjoying the morning with the family is always a pleasure and being able to eat something delicious without having to worry about staying at the foot of the stove, makes that pleasure multiply. That's why this Lemon Spiced Roast Chicken Recipe is a wonderfully quick and satisfying option for Sunday lunch.

Inspired by the aromatic flavors of the Middle East, with its pickled lemons and its very special harissa , the only thing that will take us a little time is the preparation of the paste (or marinade) with which we will impregnate the chicken under its skin and with which we will spread it well before cooking it.

From there, the rest of the preparation will take care of the oven and the non-stick chef's pan from Le Creuset , which with its lid, which also covers the spouts, will keep all the flavors and aromas at bay, so that they penetrate the meat. and give it a juiciness and a really exquisite point. And also nothing will stick to us, so it will be clean in no time. The perfect Sunday!

You will see how you will not only love its flavor, but also the aroma it leaves in the kitchen. If you like these olfactory gifts as much as I do, you cannot miss this Sunday recipe, which you can make any day of the week with your favorite spices.

Do you have the frying pan ready and the chicken in the fridge? Well, let's go with the recipe!

Chef Pro pan with pourer and lid steel Le Creuset

Ingredients

• 1 farm or organic chicken of 1.5 kg
• 75g softened salted butter
• 1 tbsp pink harissa sauce
• 1 small preserved lemon, finely chopped
• 1 lemon juice
• The zest of 1 lemon

• Fresh mayonnaise and baked potatoes (optional)

Elaboration

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
2. Place the butter, harissa sauce, finely chopped preserved lemon and lemon zest in a bowl and beat well to form a paste. Season with pepper.
3. Separate the skin from the chicken breasts slightly and, using a palette knife, gently spread 3⁄4 of the butter mixture under the skin (try to avoid tearing the skin). Spread the remaining paste over the top of the chicken, making sure the legs are well covered.
4. Place chicken in Chef's 9.5-inch Nonstick Skillet and pour lemon juice over chicken. Put the lid on the pan and take it to the oven for 40 minutes.
5. Remove the lid and soak the chicken with its juices, scooping them up with a ladle or juice sprayer.
6. Return the pan to the oven, this time without the lid, and roast for another 20 minutes until the skin is crisp and the juices have evaporated.
7. Let rest in the pan for 10 minutes then slice and serve with fresh mayonnaise and roast potatoes.

Grades

• If you make the chicken whole, it will be juicier. But you can also cook it in halves or quarters if you want to have it ready sooner.
• This recipe is characterized by the more oriental flavor that both the pickled lemon and the harissa give it, but you can use the spices that you like the most and give it your personal touch.
• Pickled or preserved lemon does not have the same flavor as fresh lemon, so if you don't have pickled lemon, you can use a larger amount of lemon zest than the recipe calls for to replace the preserved lemon.
• Harissa is a sauce made from red pepper powder and different spices. It has a powerful, spicy flavor that greatly enhances that of meat and vegetables and is delicious even with a little bread, as an appetizer. The one from Terre Exotique is one of our favorites and you can find it here .
• It's great to be able to use a skillet both on the stove and in the oven, and this recipe is a good demonstration of that for the new Le Creuset chef skillet. But you can make the recipe in a baking dish or in a cocotte if you prefer!