Roast Chicken with Veggies
Provided you are not a vegan or vegetarian, as many of the readers of the MGC blog are, a whole chicken makes a great standby meal for a weeknight dinner and can easily be dressed to impress for a weekend dinner party. This recipe showcases a delectable array of flavors that meld together in savory delight.
Focusing on the quality of our food is not only important for taste, but pivotal for our health as well. Not so long ago, chickens were smaller and older when they came to the table, but their meat was packed with flavor. Today’s chickens are young when harvested – only about six weeks old – and they are fat and surprisingly tasteless. The chickens of long ago were harvested right around 16 weeks and by this time, they had begun to develop their miraculous ability to convert AHA to DHA, an all-important omega-3. Bred to grow inordinately quickly, if today’s chickens were allowed to live 16 weeks, they would get so big their legs wouldn’t be able to support their weight.
When we get back to basics and seek out good quality foods, very often they’re raised or grown the way in which they were long ago, and they’re labeled ‘artisan’ or ‘heirloom’. Try to find an heirloom chicken for this recipe and compare it to the way other chicken tastes.
3 carrots
1 bag of small red new potatoes
1 medium yellow onion
3 tablespoons butter
whole chicken (I used an organic heirloom chicken)
1 lemon
3-4 rosemary sprigs
4 cloves garlic
kitchen twine to bind chicken legs
1. Preheat oven to 425°
2. Chop carrots into thirds.
3. Cut onions into 6 wedges.
4. Melt 1 tablespoon butter.
5. Mix melted butter with onions, potatoes, carrots in glass 9 x 13″ pan
6. Season vegetables with sea salt and pepper.
7. Rinse chicken in cold water and pat dry.
8. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and brush chicken with it.
9. Season with salt and pepper.
10. Cut lemon into quarters and place inside cavity with 3-4 sprigs of rosemary.
11. Tie chicken legs together with twine.
12. Peel and smash 4 cloves garlic and place underneath chicken in baking dish with vegetables.
13. Roast for 45 minutes, then baste.
14. Roast approximately 25 minutes more, baste again after 10-15 minutes.Chicken should be 170-175 degrees when cooked through.
15. Remove from oven and transfer chicken to serving platter cover with foil and let rest for 15 minutes.
16. Cover veggies in glass dish with foil.
17. Before serving, mash garlic in glass dish.
18. Remove lemon from inside chicken and squeeze over veggies and mix.
19. Carve and serve!
Katharine Jameson is a graduate of Syracuse University and a Certified Health Counselor. Her growing interest and research in nutrition solved her own weight problems. A mother of two, she is compelled to share the ease with which good health is obtained through the integration of good foods and proper nutrition. Based in Los Angeles, Katharine writes a weekly column where she discusses pivotal health topics and interviews cutting edge experts. She can be found on Instagram at @foodforthoughtwithkat.