Roast Chicken with Lemon and Garlic
Instructions:
- Djaj is the Arabic word for chicken; ferakh is an Egyptian term. Every day, the trams and buses coming into the
towns from the villages are crowded with peasants carrying crates
of live, cackling poultry. The chickens are killed and plucked at the
market or poultry shops. This is a simple and homely but delicious
Egyptian way of cooking the birds.
- A 3½-4-pound chicken
- 2 tablespoons mild extra-virgin olive oil
- Juice of ½ lemon
- Salt and pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- Rub the chicken with a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and garlic. Put it breast side down in a roasting pan in a preheated 350 F oven, so that the fat runs down and prevents the breast from drying out.
- Roast for 1¼ to 1½ hours, until well browned, turning the chicken breast side up about midway through.
- Test for doneness by cutting into a thigh with a pointed knife.
- The juices should run clear, not pink.
- Serves 4