Feta Roast Chicken Recipes

ROAST CHICKEN WITH PEPPERS & FETA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Mix the crushed garlic and oregano with the lemon juice and 3 tbsp of the oil to make a dressing. Season. Make a few slashes in each chicken leg, then put the chicken in a large roasting tin and rub with 2 tbsp of the dressing. Stuff the squeezed lemon shells inside the body cavity. Roast for 30 mins.
• Meanwhile, tip the peppers, onions, whole garlic cloves and courgettes into a large bowl, and toss with the remaining oil and some seasoning. After 30 mins, pile the veg around the chicken, drizzle with half the remaining dressing and roast for 1 hr.
• Remove the chicken from the oven, lift onto a platter, cover with foil and leave to rest. Check the roasting tin, and if the chicken has rendered a lot of fat, pour it off, skim and return the juices to the tin. Stir the lemon wedges, mint, feta, chickpeas and remaining dressing through the veg and juices, then return to the oven for 10 mins to warm through. Pile around the chicken, scatter with mint sprigs and serve with bread, if you like, to mop up the juices.

FETA CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
• Place chicken breasts between 2 pieces of waxed paper. Gently pound chicken with flat side of meat mallet or rolling pin until about 1/4 inch thick; remove wax paper. Place 1 ounce of feta cheese in the center of each chicken breast, and fold in half.
• Spread 2 tablespoons bread crumbs in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Arrange chicken in the dish, and top with remaining bread crumbs.
• Bake 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

FETA-BRINED ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• The day before serving, combine 2 ounces feta, 2 teaspoons salt and 4 cups water in a blender and blend until smooth. Put chicken in an extra-large resealable plastic bag or a container large enough to submerge chicken, and cover with the feta brine. Refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
• Before cooking, remove chicken from brine and transfer to a towel-lined tray. (Discard brine.) Pat chicken dry with paper towels and allow to come to room temperature for 1 hour.
• In a small mixing bowl, combine remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, the pepper, the oregano and the zest of the lemons (about 1 tablespoon). Liberally cover chicken in herb mix and gently massage entire bird. Halve lemons and place 3 halves in cavity (save remaining half for serving). Using kitchen twine, tie legs together.
• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place a large ovenproof skillet over high heat. Add oil and heat until it just smokes. Place chicken, breast-side up, in pan. Transfer entire pan to oven. Cook, basting once or twice, until juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a knife, 50 to 60 minutes.
• Remove pan from oven, then stir remaining crumbled feta into juices in pan and stir well. Let chicken rest for 10 minutes in the pan before slicing and serving on a bed of greens, with feta-laced pan juices on top, drizzled with a little lemon juice from the reserved lemon half.

CHICKEN WITH TOMATOES AND FETA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large skillet heat oil over high. Add onion and garlic and saute until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook until tomatoes break down, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Season chicken with salt and add to skillet. Transfer to oven. Bake until chicken is cooked through, about 17 minutes. Heat broiler. Sprinkle feta over chicken and broil until feta is softened and browned in spots, 2 minutes. Sprinkle with dill for serving.

SQUASH WITH ORZO & ROASTED GARLIC & FETA SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Remove the outer layers of the garlic bulb and slice off the root end, being careful to not cut too deep into the cloves. Put on a small sheet of foil, drizzle with 1 tbsp of the olive oil and sprinkle over a pinch of salt. Scrunch to enclose the garlic in the foil and bake for 45 mins. Remove from the oven and leave to cool still wrapped in the foil.
• Meanwhile, toss the squash with 2 tbsp of the oil, the paprika and some seasoning. Tip onto a baking sheet and roast for 30-40 mins, turning halfway, until the squash is tender and has some colour.
• For the sauce, combine the feta, yogurt, lemon juice and 4 of the roasted garlic cloves (squeezing the flesh out of the skins) to create a smooth paste. It should be thick but pourable - add up to 2 tbsp water to loosen if needed. Set aside.
• Cook the orzo in a pan of salted water over a medium heat for 4-5 mins until it's cooked but still has bite. Drain, reserving a cupful of the orzo water and cool in a sieve under cold running water.
• Cook the leek with 1 tbsp oil and the butter over a medium heat in a large pan, stirring regularly, for 5 mins. Add the preserved lemon and the flesh of 3 roasted garlic cloves, then mash together well. Once the leeks are translucent, tip in the cooked orzo, stock and a splash of the pasta cooking water. Stir for a minute to warm through the orzo. Mix in half of the parsley.
• Spoon the orzo and leeks onto plates, top with the squash and drizzle over the feta sauce. Sprinkle with remaining parsley and serve.

FETA ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Crumble feta cheese into a bowl. Add garlic, red pepper flakes, black pepper, lemon zest, oregano, and 3 tablespoons olive oil. Mix and smear into a smooth paste with the back of a spoon. Reserve lemon juice for the sauce.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Season chicken cavity with salt and stuff rosemary and oregano inside. Tie legs together with string, season surface with salt, and tuck wingtips under. Place chicken in a roasting pan.
• Tuck fingers under the skin where the breast starts and lift it away from the flesh. Push a small rubber spatula between the skin and flesh and continue loosening the skin all the way down towards the wing. Repeat on the other side. Push a spoonful of the feta filling under the skin. Smooth over the surface of the skin to distribute filling evenly underneath. Repeat until filling is used up.
• Rub 2 teaspoons olive oil onto the chicken, smoothing over the skin. Dust the top with cayenne and season with kosher salt.
• Roast in the preheated oven until juices run clear and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 155 to 160 degrees F (68 to 71 degrees C), about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Let rest for 15 minutes.
• While the chicken is resting, pour off all, some, or none of the fat from the pan, and add lemon juice. Set over medium heat, and use the juice to deglaze the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add a splash of broth and adjust seasonings. Slice chicken and spoon sauce on top.