Lemon-Garlic Chicken

This meal follows on from an absolute travesty that was committed against a poor innocent chicken the night before. I do like to branch out and try new things, and after seeing a few recipes for Poached Chicken and scoffing at it, I suddenly had a change of heart and decided to try it out.

What a terrible idea. My heartfelt apologies go out to Liz E. Bear and Dessert Chef C for that one. I think I need to research the concept a bit more thoroughly. Suffice to say that if anyone ever tells me that they like their chicken rubbery, I'll know exactly what to cook for them. I'm sure that it all comes down to technique, but it'll be a while before I give that one another crack.

Thankfully, I had jointed off the legs, thighs and wings and put them aside for another meal, and my spur-of-the-moment Lemon-Garlic Roast Chicken Pieces more than made up for the previous night's sad debacle. I dare say this one will make it up there with Slow-Cooked Paprika Chicken and Zesty Crumbed Chicken, except that its quicker and easier than both of them.

Lemon-Garlic Roast Chicken Portions

(Serves 4)

In a pestle or large bowl, grind up the following to make a rough paste:
Zest and Juice of 1/2 a Lemon;
6 Cloves of NZ Garlic;
2T Soy Sauce;
Freshly Ground Salt and Pepper.
Score the Chicken pieces (I had 2 Leg quarters and 2 wings - increase your quantities accordingly to serve more) and press the garlic mixture into the skin and meat. Place the dressed chicken in a bowl with some olive oil and sprinkle with semolina flour. Toss gently until coated.
Place in the oven at 220C, on a rack to allow the fat to drain, and cook for 1 hour, turning twice in that time. Baste if the chicken looks like it might be crying out. I used my oven's Pizza setting, which gently grills the chicken from above while the bottom element does most of the work from below.
Serve with roasted onions and kumera and steamed veges fresh from the local market.