Chicken al Forno with Salsa Verde
Every culture has a version of Salsa Verde (green sauce). It’s consistently and uniquely delicious and varies as much by ingredient as ethnicity.
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken
- 1 lemon, halved
- One 4-pound organic chicken
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Salsa Verde
- 1/2 cup chopped basil
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1/2 cup chopped arugula
- 1/4 cup chopped tarragon
- 1/4 cup snipped chives
- 1/4 cup chopped sage
- 1/4 cup chopped mint
- 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 small lemon, juiced
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1/4 cup salt-packed capers, drained and rinsed in cold water
- 4 oil-packed anchovy fillets, soaked in cold water for 5–10 minutes and patted dry
- 3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
- 3 artichoke hearts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°. Using kitchen scissors, cut out the backbone. Flatten the chicken and pull out the breast bone. Cut the chicken in half through the breast and season with salt and pepper. Set the chicken skin side up in a roasting pan and drizzle with the oil; add the lemon halves to the pan and roast for 40 minutes, basting every 10 minutes, until just cooked through.
- Meanwhile, make the salsa verde. Using a mortar and pestle or a food processor, smash or pulse the capers with the anchovies and garlic until finely chopped. Add all of the remaining ingredients and pulse to combine. Season with salt and set aside to marry flavors, stir before serving.
- Serve the chicken with the salsa verde and the roasted lemon.
Notes
Inspired By: Jonathan Waxman, Italian My Way