The perfect lemon-rosemary chicken recipe

Why It's Good:

Pasture-raised and organic chickens have a higher amount of good-for-you omega-3 fatty acids (they lower fat, reduce inflammation and keep your heart healthy) and are raised without superbug-creating antibiotics, so you know you're getting the healthiest chicken protein around.

Why It's Green:

These birds hunt and peck in fields and are less reliant on a corn-based diet, plus they get to enjoy life before they become dinner–unlike the fast majority of conventionally raised poultry in this country.

The Ultimate Roast Spring Chicken Recipe

If you can only cook one thing and do it well, let it be roast chicken. Roasting a chicken, especially one this good (and green), is all that's necessary, really, to enhance the deliciousness of a bird raised the way nature intended.
Prepared simply, it's an elegant and wholesome meal to be enjoyed with someone who will appreciate the goodness before them. Serve with mashed potatoes dotted with fresh farm butter, crusty bread and a salad of fresh local greens, and savor the moment with a great white wine, like Domaine de Bagnol Cassis Rose. (Organically raised in France, it's the best wine I've had in ages.)—Susie Quick

  Farmhouse Lemon-Rosemary Chicken



Serves 4 to 6

Marinating overnight saturates the chicken with lemon and rosemary and makes it extra juicy. You can also cook this on a rotisserie. Otherwise, roasting at a high temperature speeds the cooking and creates a crisp bronzed skin and juicy meat.

1 (3- to 4-pound) chicken, preferably pasture-raised or organic
Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon kosher
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons finely minced fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 cups chicken stock or organic broth

1. Remove any giblets and rinse the chicken well with water; pat dry with paper towels. Place the chicken in a medium glass bowl. Mix together lemon juice, salt, pepper, oil and rosemary and rub all over the chicken. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate, turning occasionally, 8 hours or overnight.

2. Heat oven to 450°F. Place chicken on a rack in a shallow roasting pan and bake 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 425°F and continue baking 40 minutes, basting occasionally, or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 180°F on a meat thermometer, or juices run clear when thigh is pricked with a knife. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

3. Meanwhile, remove all but 1 tablespoon of fat from roasting pan and place over medium-high heat. Add chicken stock and wine and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring until stock is reduce by half. After slicing chicken, spoon pan drippings over chicken and serve.