Herb-Roasted Chicken with Melted Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 0.5 cup cilantro leaves fresh roughly chopped
• 0.3 cup optional: dill fresh roughly chopped
• 0.5 cup parsley fresh roughly chopped
• 0.3 cup tarragon fresh roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic 
• 6 servings kosher salt and pepper freshly ground
• 0.3 cup olive oil extra-virgin
• 1 cup yogurt plain
• 2 pounds plum tomatoes halved lengthwise
• 0.5 medium onion red roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar 
• 6 pound roasting chickens 
• 0.3 cup walnuts chopped

Equipment

• food processor
• bowl
• frying pan
• oven
• roasting pan
• kitchen thermometer

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Pulse the onion, parsley, cilantro, tarragon, 2 tablespoons dill, the walnuts and garlic in a food processor.
2. Add 3 tablespoons olive oil, the vinegar, 2 teaspoons salt, and pepper to taste; pulse until smooth.
3. Stir half of the herb paste with the yogurt in a small bowl; cover and refrigerate.
4. Season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. Loosen the skin with your fingers; rub some of the remaining herb paste under the skin and the rest on the outside of the bird. Truss the chicken.
5. Place in a roasting pan; roast until the skin turns golden, about 30 minutes.
6. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Toss the tomatoes with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a bowl; season with salt and pepper. Baste the chicken with the drippings and add the tomatoes, cut-side down, to the pan. Continue roasting until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh registers 155 degrees, about 1 hour. Season with salt and pepper; let the chicken rest 10 minutes before carving.
7. Arrange the chicken and tomatoes on a platter; sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons dill.
8. Serve with the yogurt sauce.
9. Photograph by Tina Rupp