In my family a traditional Hanukkah meal typically consists of potato latkes, a green vegetable and roasted chicken. This year I want to hold on to our traditions while making the menu a bit more interesting. I decided to look through one of my favorite new cookbooks, Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi, for some inspiration—and I found the perfect dish with this chicken recipe. The combination of clementines and fennel is both delicious and beautiful and is sure to make the holidays even more enjoyable not to mention that you can prep everything the day before and simply roast right before serving! This dish is sure to become a Hanukkah tradition for years to come!
Roasted Chicken with Clementines and Fennel
(adapted from Jerusalem)
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons white wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons grainy mustard
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 medium fennel bulbs cut lengthwise and then into quarters
2-lb organic or free-range chicken divided into 8 pieces, skin removed
4 clementines, unpeeled, sliced thin
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons fennel seeds, lightly crushed
parsley, to garnish
Preparation:
1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together wine, oil, orange and lemon juices, mustard, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Add fennel, chicken, clementine slices, thyme and crushed fennel seeds. Turn several times to coat. Marinate for several hours, or preferable overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Transfer all ingredients, including marinade, to a large roasting pan in a single layer. Roast until chicken is browned and cooked through, 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from the oven.
3. Remover chicken, fennel and clementines from the pan onto a serving plate and cover to keep warm.
4. Pour cooking liquid into a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then simmer until sauce is reduced and you are left with about 1/3 cup.
5. Pour heated sauce over chicken. Garnish with parsley and serve.
Hillary Irwin is a registered dietitian and the founder of Simply Beautiful Mom, a nutrition counseling and consulting practice based in New Jersey. In her practice, Hillary counsels children, adolescents and adults on many nutrition issues, with a focus on clean, balanced eating and weight management. She is an expert at teaching clients how to fit proper eating and healthful cooking into a frantic lifestyle, taking the busiest of the busy and teaching how simple changes can create fantastic results. Hillary holds a B.S. in Nutritional Sciences with a concentration in Dietetics from Cornell University and a Master’s Degree in Applied Anatomy and Physiology from Boston University. She is an active member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND—formerly the American Dietetic Association), the New Jersey Dietetic Association, and various Dietetic Practice Groups of the AND, including Nutrition Entrepreneurs, Sports Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutrition and Weight Management. Hillary lives in Westfield with her husband Greg, her two children (Oscar and Lola) and their dog Willard. She loves food, traveling, cooking and spending time with her family.
