The best meals are the most simple. They are effortless & comforting in both their preparation and presentation. Root vegetables…potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic…all roasted along side a small plump chicken…scented with fresh thyme leaves…salted & peppered…cooked in one dish so that all the juices intermingle is one of my favorite meals of this season.
A couple of things of note….Hello October my favortite month and right after my printable recipes I am now adding a section for “sources”…where to find some of the fun things you might see here at Food on Fifth from props to kitchen tools. Let me know what you think.
The vegetables came from the Downtown Nashville Farmer’s Market and the small, plump chicken from my CSA, Fresh Harvest. I buy a few of these organic chickens at one time and keep them in my freezer so I always have them on hand.
Well….you can’t, can you?
After lightly browning on both sides in some olive oil on top of the stove, I sprinkle lots of chopped garlic over the top, snuggle the potatoes, onions & carrots around the chicken, add a generous grinding of black pepper, fresh thyme leaves and sea salt and it is ready for the oven.
An hour or so later, golden brown crispy skin, just right softened vegetables & more thyme and our dinner is ready. A glass of wine and some good crusty bread for sopping the juices…Bring it on October! Make every meal count.
(quote from the Chicken Little book)
Garlic Roasted Chicken and Root Vegetables
Ingredients:
- One 2-3 lb chicken, organic preferred
- olive oil
- 2 tbsp minced fresh garlic
- 8 small red potatoes
- 4 carrots, trimmed & peeled
- 2 red onions, chopped in large pieces
- fresh thyme sprigs & leaves
- 1/2 cup water
- Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Rinse and pat roasting hen dry inside and out.
- Heat olive oil in a pan that can go from stove top to the oven for roasting. Brown the hen on the top and bottom. Turn heat off.
- Pat the minced garlic and thyme leaves onto the hen.
- Snuggle the vegetables around the hen. Sprinkle over all with a generous amount of black pepper and sea salt.
- Pour 1/2 cup water into the pan. Roast for 1 1/2 hour or until the juices from the hen run clear and the root vegetables are cooked al dente soft. Garnish with thyme sprigs.
- Serve chicken pieces & vegetables in a bowl with some of the juices, a good crusty baguette for sopping and a glass of decent wine for optimum contentment.
Making good stuff you see here easy to find:
All-Clad Pan Sauteuse – From Stove-top to Oven – Sur la Table, Williams Sonoma, Macy’s
Mid Century Silver Plate Serving Fork – Nashville Flea Market
Wooden Handle Knife – West Elm, Schmidt Brothers
Flatware, White Bowl, Tablecloth, Wine Glass – Food on Fifth prop collection
“You Can’t Eat Money” Artwork by C.M.L.