Baked Chicken with Spinach and Baby Tomatoes

Last Sunday, I baked a chicken after inspiration from from Michael Smith's Chef at Home. Michael was right, it was one of the most delicious chicken I have ever made. It doesn't come out with a dark skin like most chicken but that's because it is cooked in a dutch oven. Adding spinach and tomatoes to the broth made an amazing salad. I would probably add more spinach next time though. I bought my free range chicken from a local supermarket and didn't really look at it closely. Funnily enough, after it was done, I noticed that it had the feet inside! Figures...that's what I get from living in Asia.

My Ratings:

Yum Factor: 9/10

Difficulty Factor: 1/10

Ingredients

• 1 3 to 4 pound organic roasting chicken
• 2 onions, peeled and chopped
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
• salt and pepper
• 1 rosemary sprig
• 2 bay leaves
• 24 cherry tomatoes
• 1 pound baby spinach
• 1. Preheat your oven to 300°F. Toss the onions, garlic, celery and carrot into a Dutch oven and lightly season with salt and pepper. Add rosemary and bay leaf. Stir the vegetables. Season the chicken and rest on top of the vegetables. Cover tightly with a close fitting lid and bake for 90 minutes or so, until an instant read thermometer shows 165°F. Cover the chicken with foil and rest on a plate for 15 minutes or so before slicing.
  2. Meanwhile place the Dutch oven over a medium burner and bring to a simmer. Add the tomatoes and spinach. Stir until the spinach has wilted and the tomatoes have heated through. Season to taste.
  3. Slice the chicken, removing all the meat, toss with the spinach and tomato broth. Serve immediately.
  Mental Note: Buy a meat thermometer next time so as to check that it completely cooked.