Roasted Chicken

There is nothing like a whole roasted chicken on a cool autumn day. It is truly a simple dish, but one that can be juicy and have a terrific flavor. There are a number of ways to prepare this, but the one below is my favorite, and should serve 2-4 people depending on how "greedy" they are (this is a favorite saying of mine from Jamie Oliver!).

Ingredients:
4 pound whole chicken, rinsed and dried.
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup each of fresh parsley, thyme and oregano (approximate amount)
Salt and Pepper
4 medium potatoes, cut in quarters
3-4 whole garlic cloves, peeled
2-3 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered


Directions:
First, prepare the potatoes and put into a pot with water to just cover them. Put over high heat and bring to a boil. Total time from cold start to finish is about 10-12 minutes to get them just starting to soften.

Next, separate all of the herbs and place in a cup with the olive oil and some salt and pepper. Use an immersion blender to mix well together, adding additional olive oil if necessary (this should really be a thicker paste). If you don't have an immersion blender, just chop the herbs and mix with the oil, or use a blender.

Take the chicken and carefully separate the skin from the breasts, thighs and legs, being careful not to rip the skin. Take the herb mixture and rub directly on the mean under the skin, and then take some and rub in the cavity of the bird. Reserve a little of the mixture to pour over the potatoes and carrots. Rub the outside of the bird with a little olive oil.

Pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees. In a large, heavy pan that is oven safe, put over high heat with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and add the potatoes and cook for 4-5 minutes to start to brown them (I like crispy potatoes - you can skip this step if you want). Turn the heat off, move the potatoes to the outer edge of the pan and put the chicken in the middle and ring the outside with the carrots and garlic cloves. Sprinkle entire dish with salt and pepper and place in oven for 15-20 minutes to start to crisp the skin. Then turn oven down to 400 and cook another 1:00 to 1:15 until the internal temperature of the bird is at least 165 degrees at the thickest parts (breast and thighs).

Remove chicken to a cutting board, cover with foil and let rest 5-10 minutes. Carve and serve with the potatoes, carrots and juices.

You can take the juices and oil in the pan and make a more formal sauce. First remove the potatoes and carrots to a serving dish. Over medium heat heat squeeze the garlic out, add back the juices from the bird on the cutting board and bring to a boil. Add in a slurry of water and flour that has not lumps and whisk in to get all the bits off of the bottom of the pan. You can add in some chicken stock if you want to make more sauce.