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 