Lime Roasted Chicken with Roasted Vegetables and Teet’s Jalapeno Cheese Ponce Stuffing

I have never worked with Ponce before, I did not even know what it was until Teet’s generosity piqued my curiosity. So, I decided to give it a go. I originally wanted to try it with Cornish Game Hens, but they seem to be a seasonal item here in Southern New Mexico. I served this dish while my husband’s parents were visiting from Pennsylvania.  They were curious too!  There was none left after dinner, and now we are all Ponce believers.

Lime Roasted Chicken with Roasted Vegetables and  Teet’s Jalapeno Cheese Ponce Stuffing 

By Tracy Hersh

Serves 6-8

 

1 ½ pounds of fingerling potatoes
1 pound bag baby carrots
2 large yellow onions, cut into chunks
2 Tablespoons olive oil
pinch of sea salt
pinch of ground black pepper
1 large whole chicken, giblets removed, rinsed and patted dry
1 Tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
½ Teet’s Smoked Jalapeno Cheese Ponce, cut into chunks
3 limes

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

Toss the potatoes, carrots and onion with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Lay in the bottom of a large roasting pan.

Rub the chicken with butter. Mix the chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper together. Rub the spice mixture under the chicken skin and sprinkle on top of the chicken. Place the ponce in a medium bowl. Cut one lime in half and squeeze the juice over the ponce. Stuff the chicken cavity  with the ponce. Tie the chicken legs together and place the chicken, breast side up, atop the vegetables in the roasting pan. Thinly slice the remaining limes and place over the chicken breast. 

Roast covered for 45 minutes. Uncover and continue roasting uncovered for another 30-45 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken thigh reaches 165 F. Remove from the oven. Slice the chicken and serve on a platter with the vegetables and the ponce. Enjoy!