Roasted Chicken and Fennel in a Citrus Pan Sauce

This is a wonderful one pan roast chicken dish that is quick and easy to make. It takes just a few ingredients to deliver tons of flavour.

Perfect for a casual weekday meal, or an easy elegant dinner.

The chicken roasts to moist tenderness, with a flavourful crispy skin, while the fennel melts into the citrusy sauce below.

The juices from the roasting chicken meld with the citrus juices to come together into a delicious pan sauce with hints of tarragon and anise. The combination of the light sweetness of the orange, slight bitterness of the grapefruit, and the tartness of the lemon or lime provide a wonderful complexity to the sauce.

Roast Chicken and Fennel with a Citrus Pan Sauce

Simple, easy one-pan roast chicken dish. Perfect for a weekday, or an elegant dinner.

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Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Canadian

Keyword: elegant, one-pan dish, simple

Servings: 6

Calories: 527kcal

Equipment

• Large roasting pan

Ingredients

• 2 large bulbs fennel
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling on the chicken
• 2 oranges; zest and juice
• 1 grapefruit – juice only
• 1 lemon or lime; zest and juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 teaspoons fennel seeds
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon grainy mustard
• 11/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 8 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs (or one whole chicken cut into 8 pieces)

Instructions

• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F
• Remove the fronds from the fennel and set aside for garnishing the finished dish. Cut the bulbs of fennel into quarters and then cut each quarter, lengthways, into 3. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and place into a large roasting pan.
• In a small bowl whisk together the Dijon and grainy mustards, ½ teaspoon of the dried tarragon, juice and zests of the oranges, lemon (or lime) and the juice of the grapefruit plus ¼ teaspoon salt. Stir in the fennel seeds. Set aside.
• Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Place the flour in a shallow dish, and lightly dredge the chicken in it, shaking the pieces to remove excess flour. Season the chicken with the remaining teaspoon of dried tarragon.

  Arrange the chicken pieces in the roasting pan so that they are sitting, skin-side up, on top of the fennel. Drizzle a little olive oil on the tops of the chicken. Add the citrus, mustard mixture to the roasting pan.
• Place the pan in the oven, and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, then baste the chicken with the pan juices. Continue roasting for another 25 to 30 minutes, or until the skin of the chicken is very crisp and the meat cooked through.
• Transfer the chicken and fennel onto a warmed serving plate. Spoon a little of the pan juices over top, reserving the rest to serve the on the side. Garnish with the reserved fennel fronds.

Nutrition

Calories: 527kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 189mg | Sodium: 345mg | Potassium: 900mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 430IU | Vitamin C: 43mg | Calcium: 113mg | Iron: 3mg

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