Pesto Roast Chicken

Amazon has this stand-up roaster: Tumbleweed Pottery Original Chicken Cooker, that has a well in the center to add your favorite liquid. It looks like something that would be perfect for beer-can chicken (which I will be trying soon!), but I decided to steam my chicken with white wine. I had pesto in the freezer from the summer, so I defrosted a few cubes and used that along with some Olivio and lemon juice to rub under the chicken skin. It was so juicy and flavorful, and I look forward to eating it all week! Plus, when I took the chicken out of the oven, all the fat just dripped out into the pan, so it was definitely lower in fat! I added baby potatoes for a perfect meal.

Pesto Roast Chicken
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
1 roaster chicken (about 7 lbs.)
1/4 cup pesto (preferably low-fat)
1 tablespoon Olivio
1 lemon, cut in half
1/4 cup white wine
Fresh rosemary and basil leaves
Baby potatoes (if desired)

Directions:
Rinse chicken and pat dry.

In a small bowl, combine pesto, Olivio spread, and the juice from 1 half of lemon. Spoon 1 teaspoon of the pesto mixture into the well of the cooker. Add the white wine to the well. Set aside.

Loosen the skin around the breast area. Using your hands, spread the pesto mixture under the skin and then spread over the skin. Add the remaining lemon half, and fresh rosemary and basil leaves to the chicken cavity. Insert the chicken onto the chicken cooker. Place a ball of aluminum foil in the neck of the chicken.

Place the chicken in a COLD oven, and set the oven to 350F. Once the oven has reached 350F, roast chicken until a thermometer inserted into the thigh reaches 180F, about 1 hour 30 minutes – 2 hours. Let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.