Citrus Roast Chicken

I hope it feels like spring where you are. Here? Not so much.

Last week my in-laws were here to spend my sister-in-law’s spring break. Ohio isn’t quite the spring break destination that Florida used to be. On Sunday we drove down to Louisville to meet up with the entire family (my brother-in-law and his girlfriend, who live in Nashville, drove up). The weather was a little chilly, but the sun was shining. My mother-in-law and I enjoyed a long walk in a park with my son while the rest of the gang did the Mega Zips zip line tour in the Mega Cavern. They all had a blast.

But then it was back to Ohio, where the snow decided to come back down, the sun stayed behind clouds, and the weather never reached 40. Add coughs and colds all around and it was a fairly gloomy week. But, we were all together and there was a lot of good bonding time with my little man. Stuart and I don’t get to watch very many movies so we enjoyed our lazy couch time catching up on the latest favorites. (FYSA: The Imitation Game was worth all the hype.)

If there’s one food that can make me forget about the dreary grey outside, it’s citrus. Slicing citrus into rings looks like sunshine in a bowl! And because my parents have lime trees in the backyard, any citrus really makes me think of Florida.

Break away from that candied ham and brighten up your Easter table this Sunday with this citrus roast chicken! Or if you can’t tear yourself from that ham might I suggest it for Mother’s Day?

Citrus Roast Chicken

Ingredients:

• 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 1 cara cara orange
• 1 lemon
• 1 tangerine
• 1 grapefruit
• 1/4 C olive oil
• 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
•  1 tsp ground allspice
• thyme, for garnish

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Thinly slice all of the citrus 1/8″ thick using a mandolin. Remove seeds. (I only used a couple slices of grapefruit, and half of the remaining fruits.)
3. Place some citrus slices on the prepared baking sheet. Top with chicken, do not crowd the pan – use two baking sheets if necessary.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, pomegranate molasses, allspice, and S+P. Brush sauce onto the chicken.
5. Bake 30-35 minutes, until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. Baste with additional sauce halfway through cook time.

*This recipe is adapted from Sue at http://theviewfromgreatisland.com/2015/01/roasted-chicken-with-allspice-and-citrus.html*