Mar 3, 2010

Lemon and Rosemary Chicken (Pollo Arrosto)

Evan Kleiman of Angeli Caffe in Los Angeles gave us the recipe for this simple, aromatic roast chicken.

Photo: André Baranowski

1 3 1⁄2-lb. chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1⁄2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1⁄2 cup fresh rosemary leaves
1⁄4 cup fresh lemon juice
10 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 lemon, peel removed, pith and pulp chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Toss chicken with oil, rosemary, lemon juice, garlic, lemon, and salt and pepper in bowl. Marinate for 1 hour.

2. Heat oven to 475°. Arrange chicken in a 9" x 13" baking dish; add remaining marinade. Roast, flipping once, until cooked through, 30–40 minutes.

SERVES 4

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #127

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Ratings & Reviews (14)

by bernsense on 2010-02-18

Excellent recipe, very simple flavors and real easy to make.

by joshgordon188 on 2010-02-20

Simple, but does not disappoint. This is great for a week night when we do not want to stand over the stove after work.

by mereelaine on 2010-03-06

Perfect balance of olive oil and lemon juice. The flavors perfectly blend and are even better the next day.

by fancykarate on 2010-03-19

I have made this several times and it's always delicious. Pairs well with yellow rice and a nice rioja.

by cherie72 on 2010-04-29

Evan Kleiman is my culinary hero! This recipe is so simple you almost wonder, "Do I need a recipe for this?" Just follow her lead and you'll have an excellent meal. I paired it with some homemade flatbread, zucchini, and yogurt dip. Then I sent the recipe to family and told them to make it right away. Delicious!

by MOTWELL on 2010-06-08

Awesome recipe! My chicken weighted about 6lbs. I doubled the garlic (because I like garlic), added a little more lemon juice and rosemary, but kept the olive oil the same. I also added about 6 cut up red potatoes. The prep work was a bit time consuming, but well worth the effort. I really loved the lemon and garlic flavor. The chicken and the potatoes were very flavorful and tender.

by nancymayo2 on 2011-01-04

This recipe is proof that sometimes, keeping it simple is the best thing! I emailed this to all my friend who really "don't cook" & each one had a wonderful outcome. I have actually put this up & because of work, not been able to make it for (3) days and it's still wonderful!

by MERR on 2011-01-04

QUESTION: I want to make sure I'm reading this right. Where the recipe calls for 1 lemon chopped, it's not just peeling of the zest right? It's peeling the lemon (like one would do to an orange) and chopping up the wedges?

I'm slightly thrown by the pith inclusion, which I thought is the white bitter part remaining after removing the zest.

by cookiemaker on 2011-01-21

It is often said that chicken is the perfect canvas for any number of flavours, but I find that nothing beats garlic, lemon, rosemary and olive oil. Sometimes I kick it up with some sweet/hot Turkish pepper or dried pepperoncini for a bit of fun. Other than that, this Mediterranean classic combination of flavours reigns supreme! Thank you for affirming what many of us believe.

by tputnam on 2011-10-06

Way too much olive oil for no good reason. I ended up with pieces of chicken with limp, unappetizing skin swimming in oil amid uncooked pieces of garlic. I fished the chicken pieces out and broiled them until the skin crisped up. Next time, I'll simply do what I always used to do - make Marcella Hazan's Pan-Roasted Chicken with Lemon Juice from 'More Classic Italian Cooking'. I often broil that at the end, too, but don't have to deal with the excess oil and crunchy garlic. So much better!

by LEMON on 2011-12-14

Would give it five stars, but for some slight modifications I made:
Reduced the olive oil to 1/4 cup, which was plenty.
I also added the lemon's zest, because I like it.
@MERR, I used a paring knife to roughly "peel" the lemon, and then chopped it with some pith still on. It wasn't bitter after the cooking, and helped hold the lemon bits together.
Made one diner exclaim, "Damn, Lemon, that's some good chicken!"

by JON G on 2012-01-05

I made this for my wife yesterday evening. Used chicken fillet, cos that's what we had.Used all ingredients and added fresh ginger and a shot of sherry. My wife, who is a real food critic, usually gives me a 'good'. This she loved. Thank you

by JON G on 2012-01-05

Forgot stars

by ALAMOBECKY on 2012-01-19

I, too, halved the oil but due to the rendered chicken skin fat still felt the sauce was too fatty tasting. I'm definitely going to make this again, though ... the flavor was wonderful. I'm going to take off the skin before marinating.

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