Tom’s Turn – Roast Chicken

Simple Roast Chicken

We’ve made roast chicken so many times in our 23 years of entertaining and cooking for our family. It’s literally our favorite dinner. It never gets old or tired for me because you can change up the roasting spices, the sauce, and the sides. There are so many ways to do a roast chicken. We use a roasting pan with a rack – I find the skin gets uniformly browned and crunchy that way.

Here is one version that Tom does frequently:

Ingredients:

3-4 lb. chicken (I like the organic chickens, and I make sure to buy a roasting chicken instead of a whole fryer. It makes a difference.)

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

juice of 1/2 lemon, about 2 tablespoons

1 tablespoon salt, plus additional for vegetables

1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper, plus additional for vegetables

1 tablespoon Herbs de Provence

3 pounds red rose potatoes or a combination of potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, and beets, cut into 2 inch dice

Dry the raw chicken and cover with salt, pepper, and Herbs de Provence. Drizzle all over with two tablespoons olive oil and lemon juice (I usually put the 1/2 lemon wedge into the cavity for little extra flavor while the chicken cooks.) Cook in 375 degree over for about 40 minutes. 

Add cut up root vegetables to the roasting pan, and add two additional tablespoons of olive oil, and some additional salt and pepper. Toss to coat the vegetables, and then set roasting rack back in pan and return vegetables and chicken to the oven for about 35-40 more minutes, until chicken juices run clear, or oven thermometer is about 170 degrees for the chicken. Make sure vegetables are fork tender. If vegetables need additional time, take chicken out and let rest for 5 -10 minutes before carving. Tent with foil to keep warm.