I’m not generally a creature of habit but in the past few months I’ve been roasting a chicken every single Sunday night. Don’t suppose I need another reason than “roast chicken tastes frickin’ amazing” but there is another reason: leftovers.
Free time is not something I have an abundance of right now. Having a big bowl of leftover chicken in the fridge means a mid-week salad (recipe coming soon) or a rice dish or a noodle soup can be quickly and easily prepared. When David doesn’t feed it all to the dog that is…
I’ve posted other roast chicken recipes before – this one, this one and this one. The below recipe is currently my favourite way to roast a chicken though. I like how everything is ready using one dish and the vegetables taste really, really good having roasted in the chicken’s juices for a couple of hours.
Roast Chicken and Root Vegetables
(serves 2 with enough leftovers for two more meals for you both – just increase the amount of veg if you want this to serve more)
2kg whole chicken
2 big carrots, peeled and cut into big chunks
2 fat parsnips, peeled and cut into big chunks
1 big red onion, cut into sixths
4-6 small potatoes, cut in half
1 lemon
4 garlic clove, bashed in a bit with a rolling pin
Olive oil
Thyme
Salt & pepper
- Preheat the oven to 190 oC
- Rub the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. Squeeze over the juice of the lemon then insert the lemon halves, thyme and garlic into the cavity. Place the chicken on a large baking tray.
- Toss all of the vegetables with a good pinch of salt and pepper and a little olive oil. Scatter the vegetables around the chicken.
- Roast for 1hr 50mins, occasionally turning the vegetables.
- Remove tray from oven & check that the chicken is cooked through by either using a meat thermometre or checking the juices run clear.. Use a slotted spoon to remover the roasted vegetables and keep warm in the (now turned off) oven. Let the chicken rest on a plate while you use the juices to make a gravy – like this.
- Slice the chicken and serve with the roasted vegetables and gravy.
P.S. While we are talking about mid-week eating, you might be interested in this post or this series of posts by the lovely Kathryn.
A Wee Bit of Cooking 
Well, of course the dog gets his share, too! (impossible to resist those sweet puppydog eyes ;D) Seriously, you ROCK roast chicken. I get hungry just looking at the photo…I can just imagine how gorgeous it tastes!
hugs,
T
I’m saving your recipe – we grow our own potatoes, carrots, onions, but I need to grow parsnips next year. Now I’m craving roast chicken!!!
Ooh, it’s the perfect time of year for roasting chickens too! I move into a new flat next week and might just christen the kitchen with a roast …
We’re having this next sunday! this looks so easy and so good so I will definitely give this a try 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
it’s getting too warm here for roast dinners but I feel we didn’t have that many roasts over the winter – don’t know why because I love them. I noticed the bread in the background – did you bake it – it looks amazingly good
Hi Wendy, Thanks for the recipe and the gravy one too. That’s where my roast chicken always falls down so I shall have a go using your idea. I made your beef and brocolli last night and both boys loved it.
This looks like the perfect, hearty meal for this time of year. I adore a good roast chicken.
T – I blame David for feeding Marco but I am not guilt free either… xx
Casadeberry – I’ve never grown parsnips either, now that I think of it. Might try next year too.
Domestikate – Lovely idea. Though I eat it every week, roast chicken always feels like an event.
Anne – Hope you enjoy it!
Johanna – I did. It’s buttermilk bread – tastes a bit like sourdough. 🙂
Scotsabroad – Glad to hear it. I was looking at the pictures on your blog. Cannot believe the size of the boys!!
Frugalfeeding – Me too. 🙂
This looks great, will be doing it tonight. Remind me again of the buttermilk bread recipe, no sure if I saw that one. Wendy.
Hi Wendy, I haven’t posted the buttermilk bread recipe yet. It’s similar to this one but with buttermilk instead of sour cream and I didn’t use a tin: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/oct/02/sour-cream-sandwich-bread-recipe
Hi Wendy, Thank you for your quick response, I have printed out that recipe but look foward to seeing yours sometime in the future. Looked at the website of Bakerybits, my goodness I could spend some serious money there! I think I heard Dan Lepard on Woman’s Hour Thurs or Friday morning giving his recipe for soda bread, that also sounded very good. Also I think he has a new book out on home baking which should be interesting. Wendy.
Nothing better than lemon and thyme for roasted chicken! This recipe sounds great. I think I’ll probe some thin lemon slices under the breast skin too. Can’t wait to try it! Thanks, Dave
Made your recipe on Sunday and I have to say, it was INCREDIBLE!! My whole family loved it! Ever since we had the chance to live in the UK for a few years, we’ve been in love with parsnips. They went so well with all the other veggies! The lemon cooked inside the chicken was fantastic!@
Thanks for your lovely cooking…and blogging about it!
Today, my agenda is to make this chicken. Its starting to get cold here in Minnesota, so this is perfect to start the oven and use my parsnip I bought from the farmers market. YUUUMMY. Thanks!
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I tried this last weekend when having some friends over. I was a little nervous cooking a whole chicken for the first time and serving it to someone who was visiting for the first time. No need to be nervous though, it was as easy to make as you described, and so delicious! I overshot the best I could with the recipe, cooking two chickens for four adult and two two-year-olds, and there was very little chicken left (I was hoping for at least two leftover-dinners, I managed to scrape together enough chicken for one!)
Chicken is a constant in my kitchen too and today it will be this recipe! Can’t wait.