I didn’t have an air conditioner growing up. That meant when it was hot in the summer, which was always, we had to barbecue. There were no roasts. It was a sad time. A child can grow tired of steaks, burgers, hotdogs and chops.
I live in a more temperate climate now, so the heat is not a problem. Still, roasts seem like an autumn to early spring meal, don’t they? Not so fast dear reader. There’s an easy way to make roast chicken a snappy, citrusy, summery dish. It somehow seems lighter too. I did this tonight.
How? Early readers of this site will recall my recipe for the Best Roast Chicken with Gravy. This is the same recipe except that in the cavity I:
- Put in a small, quartered onion.
- Followed by half a lime (I squeeze the juice into the cavity too).
- Then I chuck in a bay leaf and four or five crushed cloves of garlic.
- I plug the cavity with the other half of the lime.
During the roasting, I tip the juices from the cavity into the roasting pan. The lemon adds such an intense zing to the gravy that it transforms a winter dish to a summer one.
Enjoy!
