Save time by asking your butcher to cut the chicken into 4 pieces (I like to save my chicken back for stock). Make your marinade the night before and combine with the chicken in the morning, allowing it to sit for eight hours. The marinade will help not only to flavor but also tenderize the chicken.
Sometimes called bunching onions, spring onions are immature, young onions with softer, white bulbs and green tops still attached. While milder in flavor than a traditional onion, both the white and green parts are edible. They are also delicious raw and you can substitute scallions in a pinch.
Tarragon Roast Chicken with Spring Onions
Ingredients
1 whole chicken, 3 to 4 pounds, cut into 4 pieces (2 legs, 2 breasts with wings)
1 batch Tarragon-Mustard Vinaigrette
8 spring onions, or 2 bunches scallions, trimmed
Kosher salt
In a shallow baking dish combine the chicken pieces and one batch of Tarragon-Mustard Vinaigrette (when making the vinaigrette season it with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper). Cover the dish with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. Allow to marinate for 4 to 8 hours, turning the chicken over, once, half-way through.
Remove chicken from the refrigerator and allow it to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes while the oven preheats to 450 F. Line a half-sheet pan or a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Remove the chicken from the baking dish and place it on a cutting board. Add the spring onions to the dish and toss to coat them entirely with the vinaigrette.
Place the onions on the prepared sheet pan. Arrange the chicken pieces on top of the onions and set on the middle rack of the oven. Roast the chicken until an instant-read thermometer reads 155 F when placed in the thigh, 35 to 45 minutes. The skin will be golden and crispy and the onions will be soft and dark golden brown.