Best Ever Roast Chicken

I just made the BEST roast chicken dinner ever!!!!  I think it made the world of difference that I bought a beautiful organic chicken from a local farm (Henry Reed Farm in Gibsons, B.C.).  Just the experience of purchasing it and chatting with the grower as well as buying some baby carrots and mixed mesclun greens from her that would round out the dinner made the whole experience more deeply satisfying.

(Note: the following recipes have been excerpted from various 'Barefoot Contessa' cookbooks).

Roast Chicken

Thoroughly wash and dry the chicken (I used a 4-1/2 pound bird), rub with some olive oil and generously sprinkle Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper.  Inside the cavity of the chicken, insert half a lemon and a bulb of garlic (but cut the bulb in half cross-wise first).  Set the chicken into a roasting pan.

Next: Use 2 large Spanish (sweet) onions and take off the outer skin and then thickly slice.  In a bowl toss together the onion, 2 lemons that have been cut into quarters, about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, ½ teaspoon of Kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon of freshly ground pepper.  Scatter this mixture around the chicken in the roasting pan.

Roast at 425 degrees for about 1-1/4 hours or until an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees.  Remove from oven, carefully lift chicken onto a platter and tent with foil.  Leave for about 10 minutes until you make the sauce.

Place the roasting pan on top of the range on a medium-high heat.  Add 1/3 cup of white wine and scrape up all the brown bits that are stuck to the pan.  Next add ½ cup of chicken stock and when mixture is bubbling, slowly sprinkle and mix in 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour.  Let simmer for a few minutes and  serve over carved chicken pieces.

I plated the chicken with a simple side dish of roasted carrots:

1 pound of baby carrots

1 tablespoon olive oil

½  teaspoon Kosher salt

¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Put olive oil in a large oven-proof skillet and place on a medium-high heat.  Once oil begins to shimmer, add carrots – they should sizzle and crackle.  Stir them occasionally for a few minutes until they begin to blister then add salt and pepper and put skillet into a 400 degree oven for approximately 15 minutes or until they reach the required doneness to your liking.

On the side I served a simple salad of mixed greens and a champagne vinaigrette dressing:

½ cup olive oil

3 tablespoons champagne vinegar

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon minced garlic

¾ teaspoon Kosher salt

¼ teaspoon freshly cracked pepper

Combine all dressing ingredients into a jar and use an immersion blender (stick blender) to mix.  Alternatively, place all ingredients except olive oil into bowl and whisk until mixed.  Next slowly drizzle olive oil into the dressing mixture while whisking continously until well-incorporated.