Provided you are not a vegan or vegetarian, as many of the readers of the MGC blog are, a whole chicken makes a great standby meal for a weeknight dinner and can easily be dressed to impress for a weekend dinner party. This recipe showcases a delectable array of flavors that meld together in savory delight.

Focusing on the quality of our food is not only important for taste, but pivotal for our health as well. Not so long ago, chickens were smaller and older when they came to the table, but their meat was packed with flavor. Today’s chickens are young when harvested – only about six weeks old – and they are fat and surprisingly tasteless. The chickens of long ago were harvested right around 16 weeks and by this time, they had begun to develop their miraculous ability to convert AHA to DHA, an all-important omega-3. Bred to grow inordinately quickly, if today’s chickens were allowed to live 16 weeks, they would get so big their legs wouldn’t be able to support their weight.

When we get back to basics and seek out good quality foods, very often they’re raised or grown the way in which they were long ago, and they’re labeled ‘artisan’ or ‘heirloom’. Try to find an heirloom chicken for this recipe and compare it to the way other chicken tastes.