Aleppo-Pepper-and-Mint-Roasted Chicken

By

  • 4
  • 120 mins

Ingredients

  • 5 small red onions, peeled, each cut through the roots into 8 wedges
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons dried mint, crumbled
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 2 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper flakes
  • 2 lemons—zests removed in strips, 1 lemon cut lengthwise into wedges
  • One 4-pound chicken

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 425°. In a medium bowl, toss the onions, olive oil and the 2 teaspoons of mint. Season with salt and black pepper.

In a small bowl, mash the butter with the garlic, scallions, Aleppo pepper, lemon zest and the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of mint; season with salt. Rub the seasoned butter evenly under the skin of the chicken. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and set the chicken in a medium roasting pan.

Season the chicken with salt and black pepper and roast for 20 minutes. Add the onions to the pan, reduce the oven to 375° and roast for 20 minutes longer. Squeeze the lemon wedges over the chicken and add to the pan. Roast for 35 minutes longer, basting, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thigh registers 165°. Transfer the chicken to a surface. Let rest for 10 minutes.

Return the pan with the onions and lemon to the oven; roast for 10 minutes. Remove the string and carve the chicken. Serve with the onions, lemon wedges and pan juices.