I had a dinner party on the eve of spring last year and this was an absolute hit! I didn’t quite expect it because I knew many of my guests were big on organic food and vegetables. I remember having a difficult time deciding what to serve. I had to source out all the ingredients on this dish including the chicken from an organic store. I originally planned on having 2 chicken dishes for the night but decided otherwise. I settled on this one because it had potatoes so I no longer served the mashed ones.

It worked out pretty well. I already knew that adding herbs on chicken would be good. That’s a winning combination altogether. If you have to roast chicken you need the aromatics to go alongside it. Now adding the baby potatoes just completed the dish.

I found out soon after that what they loved about the dish was the texture of the meat. The chicken was juicy and tender on the inside, not to mention the rosemary smelled so good on it. I remembered that I served it last and it had just come out of the oven so it was piping hot. To me, that sealed the deal. After my guests had smelled the aroma, they probably didn’t want to try anything else.

Ingredients

  • 1 (4 to 5 pound) free-range chicken
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 lemon, halved
  • 1 head garlic, halved
  • 1/4 bunch each fresh rosemary, thyme, and parsley
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 11/2 pounds red new potatoes

 

Description

  1. Begin by preheating the oven to 400°F.
  2. Make sure to clean the chicken by rinsing it with cool water. Pat dry with toilet paper towels.
  3. Season the chicken with salt and pepper including the cavity before stuffing the lemon, garlic and herbs inside it.
  4. Take a roasting pan and place the chicken breast side up. Next, using a kitchen twine, tie the legs of the chicken together in order to hold its shape.
  5. Arrange the potatoes around the roasting pan. It should surround the chicken well and then season everything with a fair amount of salt and pepper. Then drizzle on olive oil.
  6. Place the whole thing in the oven and roast for about an hour or a little over (half an hour will do just fine). It’s best to rotate the pan every 20 minutes to make sure the browning of the skin is even. Baste the chicken on its own sauce after every turn.
  7. Insert a meat thermometer to the thickest part of the bird and check to see if the temperature reads at 165°F. That’s how you’ll know the chicken is done. Check to see if the legs would wiggle out easily from the sockets.
  8. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and arrange the potatoes. Baste everything with the sauce left on the roasting pan. Best served hot.

Chicken with Roasted Potatoes 2