I love making this Roasted Rosemary Chicken With Lemon Aioli. When I was really little my dad took us to a cross-country ski lodge to go on a skiing vacation with him. Well much to his dismay I couldn't of cared less about cross country skiing. Instead, I wanted to hang out in the kitchen with the chef and watch him do his magic. I even volunteered to help with dishes so I could get more time in the kitchen. I am sure you can imagine how this went over with my dad.
Well nothing deterred me and I remained in the kitchen most of our vacation. A clear indication of things to come in my future! Well the chef made a Roasted Rosemary Chicken that was to die for. He jokingly called it Pine Needle Chicken, as we were in the mountains.
Well I wanted to recreate that childhood memory and came up with this dish. Of course me being me, I had to kick it up several notches and give it the Mama Julie touch.
Lemon Aioli
1 cup of mayo - I used Best Foods Mayonnaise. You can use whatever type you like but just make sure it isn't a sweet mayonnaise. I haven't tried Dukes mayonnaise yet but I plan on trying it and I will report back to you what my results are.
1-2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
lemon zest from approximately 1/2 lemon
2 cloves of garlic, grated into the mix
fresh ground pepper to taste (I used the pepper mix with black, green, white and red pepper)
2 tsp. Lawry's Garlic Salt
Combine all the ingredients and let it sit in the fridge for several hours to overnight. If you want a stronger lemon flavor you can always add more lemon juice and more lemon zest. If you accidentally go over board with the citrus, add in more mayonnaise to dilute it.
Rosemary Chicken
1/2 cup fresh rosemary leaves ( no woody stems )
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup olive oil
6-8 cloves of garlic
Lawry's Garlic Salt
Sweet Paprika
Fresh ground pepper ( I used the mixed pepper corn blend )
9-12 split chicken breasts
In a mini food processor, pulse the rosemary until it is minced into small pieces. Add in your garlic and pulse again. In a small to medium sauce pan, add your rosemary & garlic mix, the butter, and olive oil. On medium heat allow the butter to melt. You don't want to fry this mixture just allow it to simmer for a couple minutes to allow all the oils from the rosemary and garlic to start to combine and flavor your butter & oil mix.
Your going to want to set aside some of this mixture to drizzle on top of your sandwich later.
In a cookie sheet or roasting pan layer your chicken breasts in a single layer. Sprinkle them evenly with Lawry's garlic salt, fresh ground pepper and sweet paprika. After you have done this, pour some of your rosemary oil over each breast.
Make sure you don't cross contaminate your rosemary oil. I separate out about half into a small bowl and use this to coat my chicken. Keep the other half separate, what you want to avoid is any utensil you use to coat the chicken touching your oil. I use a spoon to pour the rosemary oil over the chicken and only allow the contaminated bowl to touch this spoon.
Bake the chicken breasts at 350 F until cooked thoroughly. You can serve these sandwiches hot or cold. My favorite type of bread to use is focaccia. I like to slice it in half and spread on a little butter and toast it. Then on top of each toasted piece, I smear a little of a our lemon aioli, then add mixed greens or arugula, then your sliced chicken, then a dollop of of our lemon aioli ( a 2nd time ) and finally drizzle some of the rosemary oil on top ( the part you set aside and did not use on the chicken ) and some fresh cracked pepper. So far everyone I have made this for has liked it.
Note: I like to double and sometimes triple this recipe and make a large batch. The chicken breasts freeze and reheat really well. They are perfect for make ahead meals because of how well they reheat. If you don't want to make a sandwich out of them, no problem they hold their own as a main dish and go really well with mashed potatoes.
Note: If you are low carb or Keto that is also no problem. I add a little sour cream and or yoghurt to the mayonnaise and convert it into a salad dressing and serve the chicken with lettuce for a low carb / Keto dish.