Not-So-Perfect Roast Chicken

Sam and I recently became obsessed with the idea of roasting a whole chicken with root vegetables. We got the idea from a dish we had while vacationing in Mexico, believe it or not, but really we'd been talking about it for a while and just happened to get re-inspired by our vacation meal.

We're fans of Ina Garten so we tried her recipe. The result was mixed - we LOVED the way the roasted vegetables came out; fennel, onion, baby carrots, and parsnips roasted until browned and caramelized. I've since realized that roasting is my favorite way to prepare vegetables. I just love caramelized-till-they-almost-burn yummy goodness! The chicken was not bad, it just needed to be cooked a little more and we both thought it needed a bit more flavor. We'd probably smear a paste of garlic and lemon and herb under the skin next time. But here's the recipe we used. Anyone else have a good recipe for roasted chicken?

Perfect Roast Chicken

Copyright, 1999, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, All rights reserved

Prep Time:

20 min

Inactive Prep Time:

20 min

Cook Time:

1 hr 30 min

Level:

Intermediate

Serves:

8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs
• 1 lemon, halved
• 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
• 1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced
• 4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1 bulb of fennel, tops removed, and cut into wedges
• Olive oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.