Blue Cheese and Herb Roasted Chicken

Ingredients

Amount	Ingredient	Calories	Link
5 lbs.	Whole chicken	5060	Buy Fresh!
1 1/2 tsp.	Kosher Salt	0
1 1/2 tsp.	Black Pepper	10
2 tbsp.	Extra Virgin Olive Oil	239
2 tbsp.	Salted Butter	204	Buy Fresh!
1 cup	Basil	4	Buy Fresh!
1 cup	Parsley	22	Buy Fresh!
1 cup	Rosemary	115	Buy Fresh!
1 cup	Lemon	20	Buy Fresh!
3/4 cup	Blue Cheese	650	Buy Fresh!
1 cup	Red Onion	64	Buy Fresh!
1 cup	Yellow Onion	64	Buy Fresh!
1 cup	Garlic Clove	203	Buy Fresh!

Preparation

Preheat the oven and a roasting tray to 425 °F.

Finely chop the fresh basil and flat-leaf parsley. In a small mixing bowl combine the chopped herbs, 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, and crumbled blue cheese.

Pat the chicken dry and make 3 shallow slices into each chicken thigh. This will allow the heat to penetrate through evenly during cooking and add to the visual appeal.

Rub the inside of the chicken cavity with kosher salt. Next carefully separate the skin from the breast meat and avoid tearing the skin for the best presentation possible. It might be helpful to use a small spatula to separate the skin from the breast meat. Sprinkle some kosher salt down the gaps you just made. Split your cheese and herb mixture in half and stuff each cavity. Add one tablespoon of salted butter in each cavity on top of the blue cheese and herb mixture.

Take a whole lemon and make a half inch incision. This will allow the juices to escape during cooking. Stuff the lemon and rosemary sprigs into the chicken cavity. Pull the skin of the chicken breast forward so that none of the flesh is exposed and tuck the wings under. Next place the chicken, breast side up, with the legs facing towards you and use butcher's twine to tie the chicken securely. Rub any remaining blue cheese and herb mixture over the chicken and top with olive oil, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper.

Remove the hot roasting tray from the oven and drizzle it with olive oil. Cut the onions in half and place them on the bottom of the tray along with the garlic clove. Place the chicken on top of the onion and garlic then put it into the oven. Roast the chicken until an internal temperature of 165 °F is reached. At this point the skin should be golden and crispy. When done remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile remove the onions skins from the roasted onions and using a potato masher, crush the onions and the garlic cloves. The goal is to squeeze any juice from the roasted vegetables for use with the gravy. Separate the juices through a fine mesh strainer. Sift a tablespoon of all purpose flour into the gravy stirring frequently and reduce over medium heat until the gravy is thick.

Once rested carve the chicken as desired and serve with warm gravy.

Parings

We'll want a wine with some acidity to compliment the richness of the blue cheese. Try a Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot.

Nutrition

A 3 oz. serving of chicken breast is only 144 calories. Everything else including the gravy will net you approximately an extra 133 calories.

Recommended Serving Size: 3 oz. (Approximately 277 cal.)
Total Servings: Approximately 12

Items Used

Below are a few of the items used to create the finished result. The curated items below and ingredients above have been carefully selected and represent what we believe to be the best balance between quality and cost.