As I develop more recipes for the Paleo diet, I find that my habits have changed when I go out to eat. Now there is usually a voice in the back of my mind that is assessing the meat and vegetable pairing. Or I will try to decipher certain seasonings to see if they can be replicated. Basically, I now approach restaurant food as something I could potentially make at home. That is where I got the idea to add oranges and lemons to flavor roasted chicken. Now if only I could find someone else to whisk away the dirty dishes like at the restaurant.
I can’t emphasize enough that you should make the marinade the night before and let it rest in the refrigerator overnight. The chicken turns out very tender and citrusy. I also cut up the onion, orange, and lemon the night before and was able to assemble everything in the pan and get it into the preheated oven in 5 minutes. I believe chicken breasts could be used instead, but the baking time would be closer to only 40 minutes. Also, next time I’d switch to using fresh thyme and rosemary rather than dried.
This elegant yet simple roasted chicken goes great served alongside cauliflower rice or a large salad. Enjoy for a night of relaxed dining at home.
Ingredients
- 12 total pieces bone-in chicken thighs and legs
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 lemon, sliced thin
- 1 orange, sliced thin
- For the marinade
- 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp honey
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Juice of 1 orange
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp onion powder
- Dash of red pepper flakes
- Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Directions
- Whisk together all of the marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Place the chicken in a baking dish (or a large Ziploc bag) and pour the marinade over it. Marinate for 3 hours to overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the chicken in a baking dish and arrange with the onion, orange, and lemon slices. Sprinkle with thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, baste the chicken, and bake for another 30 minutes uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through.
I thought this sounded really good. It has been in the oven for 2 hours now and the chicken is still not done, but the oranges and lemons are pieces of charcoal. 🙁 So very sad that I wasted our pastured chicken on this and now I have no dinner ready for my family. How in the world did yours get done in only one hour?
I would check your oven. Chicken cooked at 400 degrees shouldn’t take even close to 2 hours!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious. I never added sliced orange, lemon and onion. Just tipped my marinaded chicken out of ziploc bag into roasting dish and sprinkled on herbs and seasoning. It cooked in an hour as specified. I made some cayenne spiced sweet potato wedges to go with it. Perfection.
Could I use just chicken legs? I don’t have any thighs..