For the longest time, I’ve wanted to roast a chicken on a Sunday afternoon. A Sunday roast dinner sounds so quaint and cozy.
For some reason, though, roasting a whole bird sounded really difficult and I never attempted to actually follow through with it. Which is silly, especially after my brined turkey breast turned out so great in November.
So while making my weekly menu last Saturday, I opened up Jamie’s Food Revolution, the Jamie Oliver cookbook I got for Christmas. There it was: a recipe for Jamie Oliver’s perfect roast chicken.
It didn’t look too hard. And I already had fresh carrots from my SLOVeg.com tote (have you heard of this? It’s BRILLIANT!) and fresh lemons from our online manager’s tree (thanks, Sergio!). A quick trip to Trader Joe’s (actually, I was shopping without hubby or toddler, which made it a long, relaxing trip), and I had everything I needed.
Result? Jamie Oliver is a genius!
Not only was this super easy to make – didn’t even have to peel the vegetables! – but it turned out super moist and flavorful. It also provided plenty of leftovers, which means I’ve had super delicious chicken sandwiches all week.
To complete the meal, I made several side dishes. I’ll share those soon so you too can have a perfect Sunday roast dinner.
Recipe: Jamie Oliver’s perfect roast chicken
Adapted from Jamie Oliver
- 1 whole chicken, approximately 3 pounds, preferably free-range, organic or higher welfare
- 2 medium onions
- 2 carrots
- 2 sticks of celery
- 1 bulb of garlic
- olive oil
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lemon
- a small bunch of fresh thyme, rosemary, bay or sage, or a mixture
- Take the chicken out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before it is to go into the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.
- Wash the vegetables and roughly chop them. Break the garlic clove into individual bulbs. No need to peel anything!
- Place the vegetables into the middle of a roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil.
- Drizzle the chicken with olive oil and season with salt and pepper; rubbing the three over the entire bird.
- Prick the lemon all over with the tip of a sharp knife. To really bring out the flavor, put the lemon in the microwave for 40 seconds.
- Put the lemon and bunches of herbs inside the chicken cavity.
- Place the chicken on top of the vegetables in the roasting pan. Put the chicken in the preheated oven.
- Immediately turn down the temperature to 400 degrees. Cook for 1 hour 20 minutes.
- When done cooking, take the tray out of the oven and transfer the chicken to a board and cover with a layer of aluminum foil and a kitchen towel. Let rest for 15 minutes (now’s a good time to make the gravy!).
- Carve the chicken and serve.
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3 comments
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Sarah
February 24, 2010 at 9:29 am (UTC -8) Link to this comment
My mom always made a version of this Sunday dinner dish in her Crock Pot. By the time we got home from church, school or work, it would be done and waiting for us.
Linda Doust
February 24, 2010 at 11:27 am (UTC -8) Link to this comment
Looks yummy! Easiest one in the crock pot is just whole chicken, chopped onions and mushrooms, Italian seasoning and a can of beer
Teresa
March 2, 2012 at 11:34 am (UTC -8) Link to this comment
Can you eat the roast vegetables or are those just for seasoning the chicken?
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February 24, 2010 at 3:17 pm (UTC -8) Link to this comment
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