Roast Chicken w/fingerlings & carrots
Last weekend I did something I’ve never done before. Something I’ve been wanting to do for awhile, nurse but have been too intimidated to take on. I roasted a chicken. A whole chicken. And guess what? It was really easy! It took me about 10 minutes to prepare it and toss it in a pan with potatoes, nurse yellow carrots and garlic cloves. Then it was into the oven for a while and out came a whole dinner. All I had to do was wait around, audiologist peek inside the oven from time to time, and then dig in.
I’ve had many a roasted chicken from take-out places, the grocery store and Whole Foods, but I’d never tasted one with such juicy meat and crispy skin. Obviously, I’d never had such a fresh-from-the-oven treat. It’s true that it wasn’t quite as tasty the next day when the meat had dried up and the skin had turned into the unappetizingly brown soggyness you get at the store (the kind you should definitely peel off and throw away). The roasted vegetables were also pretty delicious. The potatoes were browned and toasted and the carrots had caramelized nicely in the bottom of the pan.
A roast chicken definitely should be eaten moments after it’s taken out of the oven, but the leftover meat is good for tacos, chicken salad, soups, etc. I don’t recommend eating the leftover skin.
Roast Chicken with red Fingerling Potatoes and Yellow Carrots
1 lb. red fingerling potatoes
1 small bag baby yellow carrots
1 roasting chicken (yucky insides removed)
15 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp. kosher salt
4 tbsp. olive oil
Preheat the oven to 350°. Next, place the potatoes, carrots and 5 cloves of garlic in the bottom of a roasting pan and then fit the roasting rack over them. Thoroughly rinse your chicken, pat it dry and place on the roasting rack.
Use your hand to separate the skin from the meat and stuff the remaining 10 cloves of garlic underneath the skin. These will mellow and caramelize during the roasting, adding a creamy garlickyness to the meat. Wash your hand thoroughly after handling the chicken then sprinkle the entire pan with the salt and place in the middle of the oven.
After about 20 minutes, drizzle the entire pan with the olive oil and place back in the oven. Cook for another 25 – 30 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads the internal temperature at 180°. Carve and serve immediately with the roasted vegetables from the bottom of the pan.