Basil Pesto Roasted Chicken and Vegetables
Try this Basil Pesto Roasted Chicken and Vegetables recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this Basil Pesto Roasted Chicken and Vegetables recipe, or contribute your own.
- Carbohydrate 0 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0 g
- Fiber 0 g
- Protein 0 g
- Saturated Fat 0 g
- Serving Size 1 1 -4 serving (0g)
- Sodium 36.8402864583334 mg
- Sugar 0 g
- Trans Fat 0 g
- Calories 0 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Cut vegetables into 1½-inch pieces. If you are using zucchini and peppers you will need to separate them from potatoes and carrots since you'll have slightly different cooking times.
- Cut through chicken backbone or remove backbone and spread chicken out flat (this should break the breast bone.)
- Cover baking sheet with foil or parchment.
- Place longer-cooking vegetables (potatoes, carrots, turnips, etc.) on baking sheet and mix with 2 tablespoons basil pesto.
- Drizzle vegetables with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. If using store-bought pesto, go easy on the salt as the pesto is usually salty.
- Spread the vegetables out to the sides of the baking sheet and place chicken skin side down in the middle of the sheet.
- Drizzle olive oil on chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Place pan in oven and bake for twenty minutes.
- Remove pan, flip chicken over, and spread ½ cup basil pesto over chicken.
- Add zucchini, onion, asparagus or other vegetables to pan. Drizzle a little basil pesto over vegetables.
- Place pan back in oven and cook an additional 20-30 minutes or until chicken is done.
Staggering the introduction of vegetables based on their density prevents dense root vegetables from crunching while softer summer varieties turn to mush. Dense root vegetables like new potatoes and carrots require an initial twenty-minute roasting phase at 400 degrees Fahrenheit before quick-cooking produce enters the pan. Starchy root vegetables release moisture slowly and demand direct heat exposure to develop caramelized exterior crusts, whereas zucchini and bell peppers release water rapidly and burn if subjected to the full forty-minute cooking duration. Arranging the flattened whole chicken directly in the center of the foil-lined baking sheet allows the rendered poultry fat to drip downward and enrich the surrounding vegetables.
Pairing this roasted main dish with a sharp, vinegar-forward green salad provides a necessary acidic contrast to the herbaceous, oil-rich basil pesto slathered over the poultry. Bitter greens like arugula or endive cut through the concentrated fat of the pesto and the natural richness of the roasted bird. Fresh basil yields a brighter, more vibrant green sauce with distinct anise notes, while preserved or jarred pesto undergoes pasteurization that mutes the herbal brightness and concentrates the salt content.
