My Holiday Chicken Challenge

The Recipe

Work: 20 minutes

Total: 2 hours

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons canola oil

2 navel oranges, zested and cut into 1-1/2-inch wedges

2 teaspoons finely chopped sage, plus 4 additional leaves

Kosher salt

Ground black pepper

1 whole chicken (4 to 4 1/2 pounds), patted dry

2 white onions, cut into 1-1/2-inch wedges

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees F. In a small bowl combine garlic, 4 tablespoons oil, orange zest, and chopped sage. Rub mixture over entire chicken, including under the skin on each side of the breast. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Fill chicken cavity with as many orange and onion wedges as comfortably fit, plus the 4 sage leaves. Set aside remaining oranges and onions. Place chicken breast side up on a rack in a roasting pan and tuck wings under. Tie legs together with kitchen twine. Drizzle with 2 teaspoons oil and season with salt and pepper.
3. Roast chicken for 45 minutes. Baste with pan juices and add remaining oranges and onions to pan, then continue roasting until chicken juices run clear and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh reaches 165 degrees F, 25 to 30 minutes more. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving with oranges and onions. Serves 4 to 6.

Per serving without skin: 420 calories, 22g total fat, 2.5g sat fat, 226mg sodium, 12g carbs, 135mg chol, 43g protein, 2g fiber

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Originally published in Ladies' Home Journal, April 2012.