Skip to content
Roast Chicken with Fennel, Potatoes, and Citrus
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup fennel seeds
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic plus 1 head of garlic, halved crosswise
- 4 teaspoons kosher salt plus more for seasoning
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus more for seasoning
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 4 fennel bulbs (3 pounds), trimmed, each cut into 8 wedges, plus 1/4 cup fronds
- 2 pounds fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise
- 24 small carrots, peeled or scrubbed
- 8 shallots, halved lengthwise
- 3 lemons, 1 thinly sliced, 2 halved
- 1 orange, cut crosswise into 8 slices
- 8 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more
- 2 4-pound kosher chickens
Steps
- Preheat oven to 450°. Toast fennel seeds in a small dry skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until fragrant and slightly darker, 2–3 minutes. Let cool; finely grind in spice mill. Mix fennel, lemon zest, garlic, 4 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. pepper, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Set spice mixture aside.
- Place fennel wedges, potatoes, carrots, shallots, and lemon and orange slices in a large heavy roasting pan. Drizzle 4 Tbsp. oil over, season with salt and pepper, and toss well to coat. Spread out in an even layer.
- Rub remaining 4 Tbsp. oil all over the chickens. Season chickens inside and out with spice mixture. Stuff each chicken with a lemon half and half head of garlic. Tie legs together loosely with twine.
- Set a roasting rack over vegetables in pan; place chickens on rack. Roast until chickens are cooked through and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of thighs registers 165°, about 1 hour.
- Preheat broiler. Transfer chickens to a carving board and let rest for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place roasting pan on stove over 2 burners. Transfer lemon and orange slices to a small bowl. Cook vegetables over medium heat, stirring often, until liquid is evaporated, 8–10 minutes. Set pan under broiler; cook vegetables, rotating pan once, until browned in spots, about 5 minutes.
- Season vegetables to taste with salt and pepper. Squeeze juice from remaining lemon halves over vegetables to taste.
- Carve chickens. Divide roasted vegetables and chicken among plates. Garnish with reserved citrus slices and fennel fronds.