17. Roast Chicken With Vegetables

Roasted chicken come in so many varieties and flavors that the spectrum of options is almost endless.
The chicken may be stuffed or not, whole or in pieces, spicy or plainly salted...
This recipe is an adaptation of an idea presented by Manal, where she quartered the chicken. I decided to leave it whole. There are no real quantifications specified because you may add or remove ingredients as you like, according to taste. The main idea of this recipe is that the chicken has added flavour by placing crushed garlic between the skin and the meat. and that the chicken is roasted on a bed of vegetables.

Ingredients:

1 chicken, whole.
carrot, peeled, sliced
potato, peeled, cubed
cauliflower florettes
tomato, quartered
onion, peeled, quartered
garlic, crushed
lemon, juice
mixed spice
olive oil
ketchup
salt and pepper
1 cup water

Method:

Rinse the chicken with cold running water, and pat dry with kitchen paper tissue.
Gently loosen the skin from the breast by inserting a finger under the skin.
Stuff this opening with the crushed garlic and return the skin to cover the garlic completely.
Place all the cut vegetables (carrot, potato, cauliflower, onion, tomato) in a deep oven-safe rectangular dish.
Make a slight indentation in the middle of the vegetables and place the chicken on top.
Mix in a small bowl the lemon juice, mixed spice, a couple of squirts of ketchup, olive oil, and salt and pepper.
Spread this mixture over the chicken and vegetables, tossing well and rubbing all over the chicken.
Add the water to the dish so the chicken will produce its own gravy whilst cooking
Cover the dish first with parchment paper then with foil.
At this stage you may refrigerate over-night and pop in in the oven the next day, or you may immediately put in a pre-heated oven at 400°F for 1hour and 15 minutes. Uncover, and roast for 15 minuted longer to crisp the skin and give it a deep golden color.
Delicious served with rice and a crisp green salad.

 صحة و عافية