Social Sundays Menu – Spatchcock Roast Lemon Chicken with Parsnip Mashed Potatoes – Recipes!

I really take pleasure in preparing a nice meal on Sundays and getting together with family and friends.  Nowadays, many of us overlook this wonderful experience and brush it off due to other obligations.  I think sitting down to a meal and enjoying each others company is one of the most important things you could do all week long.  There is a closeness during cooking that you share while in the kitchen, and it bonds relationships in ways that sometimes you don’t realize until later in life.

I was lucky enough to come from a family that cooked together and enjoyed being in the kitchen.  This lost tradition can start anytime in your life with relatives, best friends or acquaintances. I write these Social Sundays Menus for this purpose – to encourage you and your loved ones to cook and share in each other lives.

Today’s menu is all about roasting a Spatchcock Chicken, which is a chicken with its backbone removed, so it lays flat in the pan. Spatchcocking a bird cuts down on cooking time and allows it to roast more evenly.  In this recipe, I lay the chicken on sliced lemons for a nice infusion of citrus, which keeps the poultry moist and succulent.   Also, I place sliced onions over the lemons to tenderize, and enjoy with the roast chicken and potatoes.

The side dish is always a highlight in the meal and using parsnips with potatoes, adds a natural sweetness.  This creamy mash is certainly pleasant with roast chicken and placing a few caramelized onions on top heightens the experience.

So, let’s get cooking and enjoy your Sunday – invite some guests to prepare a wonderful meal with you.  Don’t forget to share your Social Sundays on my blog, Facebook or Instagram @genamariebell.

Ingredients

Chicken

4 pound organic chicken

1 lemon

1 white onion

3 tablespoon butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon minced fresh herbs – chives, parsley or thyme

1/2 cup chicken broth

Mash

4 large white new potatoes

2 parsnips

3 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup half & half

salt & pepper

(Serves 4-6)

To Prepare:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Place chicken breast side down and cut backbone out of chicken, press to flatten.  Slice lemons and onions and lay in roasting pan.  Place chicken breast side up on top of lemons and onions.  In a small bowl, mix butter and herbs.  Using your fingers, loosen skin of chicken and slide butter mixture under breast and legs.

2.  Pour chicken broth around perimeter of pan and place chicken in oven to roast for 1 hour.  While chicken is roasting, cut potatoes in half and place in medium saucepan.  Peel and slice parsnips into thirds, place in pan with potatoes.  Add water to cover vegetables and 1 teaspoon salt.  Place over medium-high heat to boil for 20 minutes, drain.  Mash potatoes mixture with butter and half & half.  Add 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, stir.  Cover with plastic wrap and place over simmering water to keep warm.

3.  Remove chicken from roasting pan and place on a platter.  Remove lemons and place around chicken.  Add cooked onions on top of potatoes and on top of chicken.  Slice and serve, Enjoy!