Recipe: Orange Ginger Roasted Chicken

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Roasted chicken is a staple for many people, but all too often the results are bland and dry. Here, the common rosemary-thyme rub is replaced with ginger, orange zest, and cinnamon, which are also appetite stimulants. Rubbing the spices under the skin, filling the cavity with more aromatics and orange juice, and then roasting the whole shebang makes for one moist, tasty bird! 
 
Yield: 6 servings
 
1 4½- to 5-pound organic chicken
1 teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1½ teaspoons sea salt
1 orange, zested and juiced, rind reserved
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger, plus
1 finger-length piece of unpeeled fresh ginger, halved lengthwise
3 cloves garlic
2 cinnamon sticks
 
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
 
2. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Stir the paprika, coriander, and cinnamon together, then divide the mixture in half and stir 1 teaspoon of the salt into one of the halves of the spice mixture. Rub the salted spice mixture all over the outside of the chicken. Sprinkle the remaining ½ teaspoon salt inside the chicken.
 
3. With your palm facing downward, use your first three fingers to gently lift the skin on both sides of the breast to loosen it from the meat. Rub the remaining spice mixture, the orange zest, and grated ginger under the skin of each breast, massaging them lightly into the meat. Place the garlic, cinnamon sticks, ginger pieces, and orange rind inside the cavity along with half of the orange juice.
 
4. Place the chicken on a roasting rack in a glass or ceramic baking dish, breast side up. Roast until a meat thermometer reads 160°F when inserted in the thigh and the juice from the meat runs clear, about 1 hour.
 
5. Let the chicken rest for at least 10 minutes before carving. Just before serving, pour the remaining orange juice over the chicken. 
 
Nutrition Facts (per serving): Calories 215, total fat 5.1 g (saturated fat 1.3 g, monounsaturated fat 1.5 g), carbohydrate 4 g, protein 35 g, fiber 1 g, sodium 715 mg 
 
Reprinted with permission from The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen: Nourishing, Big-Flavor Recipes for Cancer Treatment and Recovery. Copyright © 2009 by Rebecca Katz with Mat Edelson, Celestial Arts, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, Berkeley, Calif. Photo Credit: Leo Gong. The book is available wherever books are sold.

Health Monitor
Dec. 2009/Jan. 2010

 


Update: July 2, 2010