There are many ways to go with an Easter menu, sometimes my family chooses turkey or ham, but we usually go with lamb shish kebab when the weather is nice enough to barbeque outside. A side of pilaf and a tabuli salad completes a good Easter feast. I'm not sure what we'll have this Easter, but this recipe is a great idea, especially at an Easter brunch table. Rather than roasting a whole turkey, (save all of that work for Thanksgiving!) you can make a simple roast chicken. It’s tasty with no added fat. You only need the chicken, rosemary, and an onion, that’s it! Let the oven do the rest. The key to a good roast chicken is covering it with foil in a high-temperature oven and turning it frequently to mimic a rotisserie. It takes some love and patience but the golden beauty is your reward!

With the basket of organics I pick up weekly, I have been trying to keep up with the abundance of fruits and veggies we're getting. I found a great use for those tough collard greens: sauté and place them under the chicken so they can soak up all of the meaty flavor. It's much healthier than cooking them the traditional Southern way with bacon fat!

Servings: chicken: 4-6 servings
collard greens: 3-4 servings

Ingredients:

Simple Roasted Chicken with Rosemary and Onion:

• 1 4-lb whole chicken
• 1 small onion, quartered
• ¼ cup fresh rosemary
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
Sautéed Collard Greens:

• 1 bunch collard greens (about 3 cups sliced)
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• ¼ cup low sodium chicken broth or water
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Kitchen equipment needed: kitchen twine, baking dish and rack, foil, thermometer

Directions:

Roasted Chicken:

1. Preheat the oven to 500°F. Place the chicken on a V-rack in a roasting pan, if you have one. (It’s a great way for fat to roll off chicken) Otherwise, you can use a glass baking dish. Prop the chicken up and remove the bag of giblets in the cavity. Place the onion, rosemary, salt, and pepper in the cavity. Tie the legs up with kitchen twine. Put the chicken back side up (to prevent breast from drying out) and cover with foil, creating a tent over the chicken. Place in the oven for 40 minutes.
2. After 40 minutes, turn the bird to its side and cover with foil again. Let cook 20 minutes.
3. Then, turn the bird breast side up, cover with foil and let cook 20 more minutes.
4. Finally, remove foil and turn oven down to 450°F. Let cook 20-30 minutes or until internal thigh temperature reads 180°F. Be careful, the fat drippings may splatter.
5. Let cool 20 minutes before carving. Serve with collard greens and garnish with rosemary sprigs if desired.

Collard Greens:

1. Wash collard greens in sink with generous amount of water. Then pat dry. Remove tough inner stems. Roll up greens and slice as thinly as possible.
2. Heat oil in medium sauté pan and swirl 2 garlic cloves on fork, in the oil. It’s a cool trick a chef in France taught me to avoid little bits of burned garlic. Then, place collard greens in pan and cook 3-5 minutes, or until they turn a bright green. Then, lower heat, add chicken broth and cover another 3-5 minutes or tender to taste.
3. Place in a ring and place chicken on top to continue flavoring the collard greens.

Please note: if you remove and do not eat skin and fat, total calories and fat will be reduced.