ROASTED CHICKEN WITH FIGS AND ROSEMARY

Roasted Chicken With Figs and Rosemary image

This is truly one of the easiest company-worthy chicken dishes out there. Marinated with citrus zest and rosemary then quickly roasted at high heat, the chicken turns golden, juicy and richly flavored, while the figs cook down into sweet jammy puddles. Use your favorite bone-in chicken parts here, or a mix of pieces. Or if you're starting with a cut up small whole bird (here's a video demonstrating how to do that), add a couple of drumsticks or thighs to reach the 4 1/2 pounds you'll need.

Provided by Melissa Clark

Time 1h

Yield 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 9

Ingredients

4 1/2 pounds bone-in chicken parts
1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
2 rosemary sprigs, needles removed from stems (discard the stems)
2 garlic cloves, grated on a microplane or finely minced
1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange or lemon zest, plus optional orange or lemon wedges for serving
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound ripe figs, stemmed and quartered lengthwise
1 to 2 jalapeño or red chile peppers, halved, seeded and thinly sliced
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Steps:

In a large bowl, toss chicken with salt, rosemary, garlic, citrus zest and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight (the longer the better).
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Spread chicken pieces out on two rimmed baking sheets, making sure there is plenty of room between the pieces. Arrange figs among the chicken pieces, then scatter jalapeño slices on top. Drizzle everything generously with olive oil.
Roast, switching the position of the baking pans after 15 minutes so everything browns evenly, until the chicken is golden and cooked through. This should take about 25 to 30 minutes for the breast meat, and 30 to 40 for the dark meat. Serve chicken with the orange or lemon wedges for squeezing, if you like.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 817, UnsaturatedFat 36 grams, Carbohydrate 17 grams, Fat 57 grams, Fiber 3 grams, Protein 57 grams, SaturatedFat 15 grams, Sodium 1000 milligrams, Sugar 13 grams, TransFat 0 grams