ROASTED PEANUT CHICKEN

Roasted Peanut Chicken
Recipe courtesy of "A Southerly Course" by Martha Foose
Serves 4

5 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter
3 green onions (scallions), chopped
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 (3 -4 )lb chicken
1 inch piece of fresh ginger
2 garlic clovves
handful of fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 450 F.

In small bowl combine peanut butter half of green onions, the soy sauce, vinegar and cayenne.
Gently loosen the skin of the chicken and spread half of the paste between the skin and the meat.
Rub the rest of the peanut paste all over the outside of the chicken.
Put the remaining green onions, the ginger, garlic, and cilantro into the chicken cavity.

Roast the chicken, breast side down, in a roasting pan for about 20 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 325 F and flip chicken breast side up.
Baste with any juices that have accumulated in the pan.
Roast for 30 to 40 minutes, until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 160 to 165 F.
Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.