Roast chicken with lemons from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking (page 327) by Marcella Hazan

  • whole chicken
  • lemons
  • Serves : 4

Where’s the full recipe - why can I only see the ingredients?

Always check the publication for a full list of ingredients. An Eat Your Books index lists the main ingredients and does not include 'store-cupboard ingredients' (salt, pepper, oil, flour, etc.) - unless called for in significant quantity.

Notes about this recipe

  • Beebopalulu on December 02, 2019

    Delicious chicken, but not one that you can make gravy from as it is too lemony

  • nicolepellegrini on March 11, 2019

    Marcella comes through again. This was the best roast chicken I've ever made. I did use a much larger bird (a 6.5 pound roaster) so upped the cooking time accordingly (including beginning for more like 40 minutes instead of 30 for the "upside down" portion). I was afraid at first I'd over-cooked the bird as the outside looked dry, but as soon as I cut into it, it was just bursting with moisture and flavor. The skin was addictively crunchy and tasty, too. So simple and, if you follow the directions properly, just so, so good.

  • mzgourmand on May 25, 2017

    I make this chicken dish repeatedly and it is reliably delicious and easy - I have taught various babysitters to make it as well, and once they get the timing down the dish is always fabulous. Some tricks: roll the lemon to soften it first and then use a fork to poke holes on all sides of it, before inserting into the bird. Make sure that you follow recipe instructions to start off with the breast down so that the bird self-bastes. Make sure that you flip the bird over after the first 30 minutes and increase the heat at the end to get that delicious crisp roast skin. Also, let your nose & eyes be your guide in terms of doneness, rather than strictly adhere to Marcella's timing guidelines: I've made this chicken in many different ovens & the timing always varies. Finally, don't buy too big a bird! This is key - better to make two smaller birds than one huge one!

  • Melanie on April 05, 2014

    I thought this was great. I only had one lemon which I sliced before inserting - the result was a delicious lemony moist bird. I cooked the chicken on top of sliced carrots and some par boiled potatoes which I rubbed in oil and salt (these came out super crisp). I added baby asparagus in for the last 5 minutes.

  • Delys77 on November 14, 2013

    Pg. 327 This was very simple and tasty, but not great. Could only fit one medium lemon in the chicken and cook time was close to 90 minutes. Also think a bit of olive oil on the skin would help it brown. Overall an easy roast chicken that yields good results given the minimal effort, but I think there are better roast chicken recipes out there.

You must Create an Account or Sign In to add a note to this book.

Reviews about this recipe

This recipe does not currently have any reviews.

You are reporting a broken online recipe link to EYB. Please confirm that you want the report submitted. Please also suggest the correct URL for this online recipe to the below textbox.