Roasted Rosemary Chicken With Maple Pears
Ingredients
Food Safety
Before you start, wash all surfaces and your hands with soap and warm water, and remember to wash your hands, utensils and cutting boards after they touch raw meat or eggs. Avoid cross-contamination by using a different cutting board for your meat and other ingredients. Make sure you’re cooking to safe temperatures and chilling any leftovers within two hours. For more food safety tips, visit our Food Safety at Home Section.
Steps
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
For easy clean-up, use foil to line a large baking sheet with shallow sides. Lightly oil or spray. Remove skin from chicken only if you wish. Place on foil. In a small bowl, stir Dijon with melted butter and 1 tbsp (15 mL) maple syrup. Measure out the rosemary, then crumble it into the mustard mixture and mix in. (It’s important to stir rosemary into the coating ingredients and not just sprinkle on top of the chicken because it will dry out.) Then spoon on top of the chicken and spread to cover the entire top of the pieces. Generously sprinkle with salt.
Slice pears into quarters and remove the cores. Brush all over with remaining maple syrup and place around the chicken. Sprinkle pears with cinnamon and nutmeg.
Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes or until chicken feels springy when pressed and an instant read thermometer reaches 165°F (74°C). Check chicken at the half hour mark. If it it seems to be drying out, brush with pan juices. If it is getting too brown, lay a piece of foil loosely over top.
Helpful Tip
Consider roasting the rest of your meal along with the chicken and pears. Before prepping the chicken, slice baking potatoes in half and place in the pre-heated oven along with a dish of cut-up carrots or squash. These could be baked on the rack below the chicken. Switch it Up: Replace the rosemary in the coating with dried tarragon, dried leaf thyme or herbs de Provence seasonings. Fresh rosemary also works well, but you will need about 2 tablespoons (30 mL) of rosemary sprigs. Finely chop them before stirring into the coating. Apples are a fine stand-in for pears but cook faster so check them for doneness at the half hour mark.
Nutrition Info
| Per 370 g serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Calories | 420 |
| Protein | 61 g |
| Fat | 7 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Carbohydrate | 24 g |
| Fibre | 3 g |
| Sugar | 17 g |
| Cholesterol | 160 mg |
| Sodium | 410 mg |
| Per 370 g serving | % Daily Value |
|---|---|
| Potassium | 26 |
| Calcium | 4 |
| Iron | 10 |
| Vitamin A | 4 |
| Vitamin C | 10 |
| Vitamin B6 | 84 |
| Vitamin B12 | 51 |
| Folate | 6 |
| Zinc | 26 |
