If you have some time this weekend to prepare a full meal, cook up this healthy free range chicken main dish (with sides) created by Chef Robert at STK Los Angeles!
Hey friends! I’m taking a little detour with things today and sharing a guest post of sorts. Lately I’ve been working on recruiting some other people to help me with posts lately, so this recipe from Chef Robert came at the right time!
This recipe for Mary’s Free Range Chicken was created by Chef Robert for the new menu at STK Los Angeles. I don’t post very many savory or main dish recipes, so this one is a nice change of pace for those of you who love the savory recipes.
Don’t let the ingredient list intimidate you: this is an entire meal. The ingredient list just looks long since this has the recipe for the chicken, the side, and the sauce. The list of ingredients for each part of the recipe isn’t that long, so all the components of this meal are rather simple.
Since this recipe takes some time to cook, it’s a great one to make on the weekend. Or if you have a big slow cooker that can fit a whole chicken in it, you can give that a try!
Feel free to adapt this recipe to suit your diet. If you eat grain-free, leave out the farro. If you are dairy-free, replace the butter in the squash with olive oil. If you eat gluten-free, replace the farro with brown rice or quinoa (just follow the cooking directions on the package).
*Recipe and image used with permission
Mary’s Free Range Chicken with Grilled Lemon Jus
Ingredients
Roasted Chicken:
- 1 whole organic free range chicken
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 thyme sprig
- 3 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 lemon sliced
Farro (for gluten-free, replace farro with brown rice):
- 1 cup farro
- 1 shallot
- 1 sprig thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 clove garlic
Baby patty pan squash:
- 2 cups quartered baby squash
- 1 shallot diced
- 1 garlic clove chopped
- 2 tsp olive oil
- ½ lemon
- ¼ cup mint leaves
Grilled lemon jus:
- 2 lemons grilled or roasted
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon peppercorn
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 teaspoon unsalted butter for dairy-free use olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F
Chicken:
- Place chicken in a roasting pan
- With a food processor pulse/mix salt and garlic and herbs. Season chicken generously inside and out with the salt/herb mixture
- Stuff the cavity with sliced lemons and more thyme and tie the legs together with kitchen string.
- Roast the chicken uncovered for 1hr and 15min in the preheated oven. Minimum internal temperature 175F.
- Let chicken rest for 15 min before cutting
Lemon Jus:
- In a sauce pot sauté garlic and spices with butter (or olive oil) add stock and reduce to ½
- Add grilled or roasted lemon slices and reduce for 10 more minutes
- Set aside
Farro:
- Rinse the farro and place into a medium sauce pan
- Cook the farro to brand specifications (read your package) with the added aromatics. My Note: I’ve read some different things online about how much water needs to cook with farro, so read the directions on your package. Generally grains are 2 cups water to 1 cup grains, but I’ve also seen recipes calling for 3 cups water to 1 cup farro. Just check your package directions for specifics
Summer squash:
- While roasting the chicken, quarter the summer baby squash
- Toss the summer squash with olive oil and season with salt and pepper
- Sauté summer squash to desire tenderness, add farro (once cooked), season to taste, and fold in mint to finish
Putting it all together:
- Place a scoop of summer squash and farro onto a dinner place
- Slice the chicken and place on top of the farro and sqaush
- Finish with jus and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
Nutrition
Sarah Jane Parker is the founder, recipe creator, and photographer behind The Fit Cookie. She’s a food allergy mom and healthy living blogger based in Wyoming. Sarah is also an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer, ACE Certified Health Coach, Revolution Running certified running coach, and an ACE Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist