Roasted Butterflied Chicken
Crisp, flavorful brown skin over juicy meat is the mark of a good roast chicken. My technique of butterflying the chicken before roasting ensures both. Using dry spices instead of fresh herbs creates a crunchy crust, as does silan (date syrup) or honey. Not only do those natural sugars add a hint of sweetness, they also deliver a deep caramel color to the chicken skin, and with my butterfly- ing technique, all the skin is exposed to the oven’s heat to make it crackly and flavorful. Plus, butterflying eliminates the need for trussing the chicken and helps it cook more quickly. The onions cooked under the chicken make for an instant, delicious sauce, which would be even better spooned over noodles, potatoes, or cooked or raw greens.
