Yogurt Roasted Chicken

Since I'm working from home today (trying to catch up on roughly a bajillion emails and reading Fulbright essays), I thought the least I could do for myself would be to have something roasty filling the house with gorgeous smells while I toiled away.

A few weeks ago I drooled over The Wednesday Chef's version of Liz Pearson's Yogurt-Rubbed Roast Chicken with Red Pepper Sauce and was remembering said recipe on my way home from a dinner party last night. Those who know me know that my memory is amazing in its sievelike qualities and won't be surprised that "chicken" and "yogurt" were the only things I actually remembered. Undeterred, I stopped at Bloom for a container of greek yogurt, set the chicken from Saturday's Ukrops run to soak in some brine last night and got up early this morning to figure out the rest.

Basically the only things that remained from Luisa's version were the chicken, yogurt, olive oil, salt, pepper and dry mustard. I added some dried thyme, tarragon, and cayenne to the yogurt as well as a couple of dashes of sriracha. I had a cut lemon laying around so I stuffed that inside. Instead of using a rack, I cut up some onions and new potatoes to use as a bed for the chicken and cooked it for two hours at 325.

And here's the tender, juicy, delicious result:


The chicken is perfect. Seriously, I could barely stop picking at it long enough to wash my sticky hands so I could upload the photos and write a post.

The potatoes and onions may not look like much, but with a twist of pepper and a sprinkle of salt? Man, are they yummy.


The red pepper sauce still intrigues me and I'll probably try it in the near future. For now, this has made my week - and it's only Monday!