Crispy Roasted Chicken Breasts with Fennel, Carrots and White Wine

This is one of those “looks fancy, but isn’t” recipes.

You roast a bunch of fennel and carrots with some white wine and then throw some marinated chicken breasts on top, letting their juices soak into the vegetables. If you feel ambitious, you add some beans and peas. Yup, ambitious. The trick is buy skin-on chicken so you get that sizzling crust.

Crispy Roasted Chicken Breasts with Fennel, Carrots and White Wine

Serves 4

Chicken:

2 large skin-on chicken breasts (or 4 small ones)
4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh black pepper

Roasted Vegetables:

1 bulb fennel, cut in 1/4-inch slices
15 small carrots or 6 large ones (chopped into small pieces if large, roasted whole if small)
1 cup green beans, trimmed
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp fresh black pepper
1/2 cup fresh or frozen green peas

Combine the oil, lemon juice, wine, salt and pepper for the chicken in a medium bowl or plastic bag. Add the chicken breasts and coat the meat. Refrigerate for 24 hours (at least overnight).

Toss the vegetables with the oil, salt and pepper (you can add the green peas 20 minutes into the cooking time if you want them less starchy. I kind of like the texture of them almost dry-roasted). Spread on a large roasting pan.

Place the chicken on top (skin side up) and pour the marinade over top of the chicken and the vegetables. Roast in a 375˚F oven for 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and turn vegetables over, basting the chicken in its own juices but keeping skin side up. Add the peas to the vegetables and juices now if you like. Roast 15-20 minutes more (you can keep basting in this time, which will make the skin crispier and more tender), until the chicken juices run clear when you cut into the breast (no bloody juices). If the skin isn’t crisp enough, place the pan under the broiler on high for 3-5 minutes. Then even the carrots get a little crispy on top.