Roast Chicken With Fennel
The kind of fennel we see in supermarkets (which, almost needless to say, is cultivated, not wild) is wonderful when cooked to full tenderness, so I thought it might make a good base for chicken, which is heavier than fish and takes longer to cook. The idea was that the fennel would lend its flavor to the chicken, the chicken would lend its juices to the fennel and the creation would need little else. The results were better than expected. Garnished with parsley and served with a bit of lemon (especially when caramelized, fennel can be quite sweet), the dish has an elegant look and delicious, surprisingly complex flavor.
INGREDIENTS
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil, or as needed
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Meyer Lemon
Chicken breasts or thighs, about a pound and a half is perfect
Chopped fennel fronds for garnish
Directions:
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Drizzle bottom of shallow roasting pan (a 9x9 oven dish works great) with about half the olive oil and cover it with a layer of the fennel and circular slices of meyer lemon. Drizzle remaining oil over fennel and lemon slices and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cut up chicken if whole and sprinkle the pieces with salt and pepper.
Top fennel and lemon with the chicken parts, skin side up. Try to cover most of the roast mixture with chicken if possible. Spoon some of the oil from bottom of pan over chicken. If there is not enough, drizzle additional olive oil over the chicken. Roast about 15 minutes, then baste chicken with pan drippings and rotate the pan. If necessary, adjust oven temperature so chicken browns but does not burn.
The chicken will be done in about 30 minutes, but you can check that inside temperature is at least 165º. Serve each piece with some fennel and a little of the pan juices spooned over, garnished with fennel fronds.
* We recommend serving it on a bed of polenta or rice or israeli cous cous.