Recipe: Lemon-Rosemary Roast Chicken with Winter Green Stems

When Hali first mentioned that she saves tough winter greens stems over the course of a week for roasting, I was a bit skeptical. That is, until I tried it myself and realized it was a brilliant idea — and a delicious one, too

When it’s the winter season and the variety of fresh vegetables dwindles drastically, winter greens become a lifesaver. But what do you do with all those tough stems that are leftover from the recipes that only call for leaves? Instead of throwing them in the compost bin, save them up to use the next time you roast chicken.

The kind of stem you use here is really up to you — but sturdier varieties, like those from kale and collard greens, are some of my favorite. This recipe is super-flexible: Throw the stems on a baking sheet or roasting pan, then top with bone-in chicken pieces that have been tossed with olive oil, rosemary, garlic, and lemon zest.

As much as I love roasting whole chickens, on a weeknight, bone-in chicken pieces cook much more quickly and evenly. Roasting the chicken over high heat means dinner can be ready in just a shade over 30 minutes — not to mention it’s a complete meal prepared all at once. You’ll even have some smoky roasted lemon wedges to squeeze over everything at the table.

This may seem like a lot of chicken, but leftover chicken never goes to waste. I love shredding the meat and turning it into chicken salad wraps for lunch the next day. Just think of it as cooking two meals at once.