Maple and five spice roasted chicken

A flavourful and aromatic dish!

As an eager experimenter in the kitchen, I was really happy when my kids started to embrace a wider variety of flavour profiles. I love Asian food and now, they do as well. This dish is so flavourful and aromatic that your whole house will smell wonderful whenever you prepare it. I like to serve the chicken with mashed potatoes which soak up the delicious pan juices beautifully. My recommended wine pairing is La Crema’s Sonoma Coast 2015 Pinot Noir; its notes of berries and stone fruit blend extremely well with the orange, maple and five spice elements in this dish. If you enjoy the flavour of five spice, readily available at most large grocery stores or online through Cardamom and Cloves, you may also enjoy this five spice duck recipe.

Ingredients

Chicken:

• 4 bone-in, skin on chicken breast halves
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) melted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon (1.25 mL) coarse salt
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 teaspoons (10 mL) very finely minced fresh gingerroot
• 2 teaspoons (10 mL) five spice powder

Pan juice:

• 1/4 cup (60 mL) freshly squeezed orange or grapefruit juice
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) chicken broth

Maple glaze:

• 2 teaspoons (10 mL) melted butter
• 4 teaspoons (20 mL) maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) soy sauce or tamari
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) rice vinegar

Method

• Preheat oven to 400F. Line a rectangular baking pan with tin foil and set aside.
• In a small bowl, combine melted butter, salt, garlic, ginger and five spice powder.
• Rub mixture over the skin of the chicken breasts. Place chicken in baking pan and roast for 20 minutes.
• While the chicken roasts, make the pan juice by combining juice and broth; set aside. Make maple glaze by combining ingredients in small bowl; set aside.
• After chicken has roasted for 20 minutes, add broth and juice mixture to the pan then baste the chicken with some of the maple glaze.
• Baste with glaze every 10 minutes, adding more broth if needed to maintain liquid in bottom of pan.
• Roast chicken until cooked through to 170F; this should take 50 – 60 minutes, depending upon the size of the chicken breasts.
• Remove chicken from oven and let rest 5 minutes before serving. Transfer pan juices to a jug and pass at the table.

Serves 4.