Sweet and Spicy Roast Chicken from NYT Cooking

From Melissa Clark of the New York Times Cooking column. This is another one of those tasty trendy sheet pan dinners.

Ingredients: 

• 1 lemon, plus 3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
• 2 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons orange juice
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of whole grain mustard
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• black pepper to taste
• 4-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
• 1 onion halved and sliced thinly
• 2/3 cup sliced dates
• 3 cups sliced carrots
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 2 scallions thinly sliced, for garnish
• 1/4 cup chopped toasted pistachios for garnish (I didn't have any)

Methods: 

Cut thin wedges of the lemon, removing the seeds as you go. Blanch them in a small pot of salted water for 2 minutes. Drain and reserve.

In a saucepan whisk together the lemon juice and orange juice, oil, mustard, honey, salt, bay leaf, red pepper flakes and black pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes, then allow the mixture to cool. Put the chicken in a bowl or large plastic freezer bag, add the marinade and coat the chicken.  Then add the carrots, onions, dates, thyme and lemon slices. Allow everything to marinate for at least 30 minutes at room temperature or longer in the refrigerator.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Place all ingredients on a sheet pan with a rim. Roast until the chicken is browned, and both the meat and carrots are cooked through, perhaps up to 40 minutes. 

Spoon the carrots over the top of the chicken to serve and garnish with the parsley and scallions.