Friday Night Chicken à la Karin and Allen

Karin and Allen's Roast Chicken

Friday Night Chicken

A few weeks back, we were invited over to our good friends Karin and Allen.

These wonderful people really know how to entertain. We had a fantastic evening with food and wine.

Friday Night Roast Chicken serves two to three really hungry people, or four with side dishes.

This is our standby Friday night dinner.  Simple, nutritious, and there's always something deliciously satisfying about a whole roast chicken.  You can fancy it up for company with side dishes and presentation.

Here is the recipe for their famous "Friday Night Roast Chicken"

• 1 roasting chicken
• 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup pesto, make your own or use stuff from the deli.
• 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, in oil, thinly sliced
• 1/2 tsp dried red pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh herbs like rosemary, oregano, tarragon, parsley, cilantro are all good.  Or use 4 tbs of dried herbs, if you don't have fresh.
• 1 red or yellow onion
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly crushed
• 3 tbs chopped fresh ginger
• Any combination of red or yellow peppers, zucchini, pumpkin or squash, carrots, fresh mushrooms.  Enough to cover the bottom of a roasting pan.
• Paprika
• Fresh ground black pepper

Lemon and herbs inside of chicken.

Pesto and herb under the skin of the chicken.

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Wash and pat the chicken dry.

Slice the lemon in quarters. Squeeze two of the quarters inside the chicken and put the wrung-out lemon in side, along with half of your fresh herbs (any kind you like), 2 crushed cloves of garlic, and some ground black pepper.

Place the chicken, breast side up with the top facing you into the roasting pan.

Gently with your fingers, separate the skin from the meat on each side, creating a deep, open pocket above each breast.

The pocket should go most of the way down the breast, without ripping the skin.

Mix the pesto, sun dried tomatoes, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl.

Using your fingers, divide the pesto mix and spread it inside each pocket.Chop the onion, garlic, and vegetables into large pieces.

For example, the onion can be quartered, zucchini can be cut lengthwise into quarters and then in half. Mushrooms should only be halved, or left whole if they're not too big. Spread the vegetables and the remaining garlic and lemon pieces to cover the bottom of a roasting pan.

Vegetables in the roasting pan.

Friday Night Chicken 

Place the chicken on top of the vegetables in the middle of the pan.  Rub the chicken with the olive oil and coat it generously with paprika.

Roast at 425 for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 400 and roast for about an hour or more.

You can use a meat thermometer at a dark meat joint to test doneness, or just smell and look for the juices to run clear.

When done, let the chicken rest and cool for 10-15 minutes before carving.

Use a slotted spoon to serve the vegetables and serve the chicken beside it.

Note: You can exchange the pesto/tomato combination for any other good stuffing flavour.

I like for example a Tandoori paste, lemon slices and tarragon, prosciutto, or Indian spices mixed into a paste with a little bit of olive oil.

Tastes fantastic, thanks Karin and Allen for sharing.

Wine Pairing and Recommendations:

Pinot Noir from the Justin Boxler Winery

With Chicken you have options, you can go with a nice crisp Sauvignon Blanc like Oyster Bay Suvignon Blanc from New Zeland.


If you prefer a red, then go with a nice Pinot Noir from any of the BC wineries, there are many to choose between.


Or if you can get your hands on a Pinot Noir from Justin Boxler Winery in Niedermorschwihr in the Alsace region of France. It is an exceptional Pinot Noir.


We had the pleasure of visiting this winery a few years back and got a chance to meet the owner Justin Boxler. Fantastic experience.... Add the Alsace region of France to your bucket list.

Bon Appetit,

Anders