Chimchurri Roasted Chicken

This whole chicken is roasted and basted with a chimchurri butter and served with an addictive tangy chimchurri sauce.  The flavor lingers and keeps you wanting more.

Ingredients

·         4-5 lbs whole chicken

·         1 cup of carrots

·         1 cup of celery

·         1 onion

·         2 cups of chicken broth

Chimichurri butter:

`• 1 cup of butter, 2 sticks or 8 ounces, room temperature
• 1 bunch of parsley, leaves only
• 5-6 sprigs of fresh oregano, use leaves only
• A handful of fresh basil leaves
• 6-8 garlic cloves, crushed
• 4-5 green onions or scallion stalks
• 1-2 teaspoons of chili pepper flakes or 1 small red hot pepper, seeded and deveined, diced
• 3-4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime or lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste


Instructions

For the chimichurri butter:
1. Place all the ingredients except for the butter in a small food processor and pulse until the herbs are finely chopped.
2. Add the butter and continue pulsing until smooth and creamy.  

For roasting the whole chicken:

Ingredients

·         Whole Chicken

·         ½ cup of carrots

·         ½ cup of celery

·         1 onion

·         2 cups of chicken broth

Directions

1. Rub about half of the chimchurri butter all over chicken, including under the skin. The rest of the chimchurri butter is used for basting the chicken while it is cooking. 

2. Pre-heat oven to 425F
3. Place vegetables (onions, celery, carrots, and chicken broth) under chicken in roasting pan. Place chicken on a rack that is slightly above the bed of vegetables and broth.
4. Bake the chicken (uncovered) at 425F for 30 minutes

5. Lower heat to 400F, baste chicken and bake for another 50-60 minutes, basting every 15-20 minutes. 

6. During the last 5-10 minutes, add additional chimichurri butter on top.

Traditional chimichurri sauce

Yield: 1 1/2 cups of chimichurri sauce

Ingredients
• ½ bunch of parsley, about ½ cup finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh oregano
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• ½ cup finely diced or minced green onions
• 1 small red chili pepper (red Fresno or red Korean), vein and seeds removed and finely diced
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• ½ cup of olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
1. Combine all the ingredients together in a medium sized bowl and mix well.
2. The chimichurri can be made ahead of time, but should be kept refrigerated and is best if used within 24-48 hours.

 Carve, plate, and serve immediately with traditional chimchurri sauce on the chicken