- Roast Chicken with Vegetables
1 whole chicken
1 onion, cut into wedges
2-3 carrots, cut into 2-3 stalks of celery, cut into 2-3" pieces
4-5 extra carrots or celery ribs, washed and ends cut off (leave whole)
potatoes, small whole white or red ones, or large ones cut in wedges
1/2 cup butter, margarine, butter-flavored shortening, or oil parsley, rosemary, thyme, whatever you like for green herbs (for basting sauce)
4 to 5 cloves garlic, chopped fine or crushed, or more
Oven at 375.
Rinse chicken well, inside and out. Make sure the giblets and neck
are out. In a bag, place the vegetable pieces and the garlic. Shake
the bag to coat the vegetables with the garlic. Add water if desired.
Now stick the onion, carrot and celery inside, alternating. Stuff
the cavity with as much as you can get in there. If desired, pour
some of the garlic (reserve about a TBSP) and leftover juice in
over the vegetables. Pull the tail up and secure the legs with
either aluminum foil or dental floss or skewers. You want the cavity
closed as tightly as you can.
Place a "rack" of carrots and celery in the bottom of your roasting
pan. Position them about an inch or so apart. If you have any
leftover vegetables that didn't fit in the bird, put them down
there too. Put the bird right on the vegetables. If you have
potatoes, stick them around the outside edge of the pan.
Take the leftover garlic, green herbs, and butter, mix them all up
and smear them all over the outside of the bird (and on the potatoes).
You should use all or almost all of the garlic butter. Place in
the oven. You shouldn't need to do anything to it for about an hour
and a half. Bake till juices run clear (for me, that's usually
45 minutes
joint and/or a breast portion by cutting into it. You will get a
pool of juice there - leave it and don't let it spill if you can
help it, especially if it's not done yet.) If you had leftover
onions, they will be caramelized beautifully in the butter, and the carrots and celery If desired, puree the vegetables from
inside the chicken to add to gravy, or eat them with the others.
