French Friday With Dorie: Roast Chicken for Les Paresseux

ROASTED DINNER FOR TWO

What a delicious dinner I made for hubby and I to enjoy...just the two of us dining this evening on the Roast Chicken for Les Paresseux.   Earlier in the day, I went shopping for a nice roasting chicken and some fresh garlic; the other ingredients were in the house.  I have fresh herbs growing in my window and  I have lots of lovely vegetables which I added to the pot.   It is wonderful to use these delicious recipes Dorie has put together that use normal ingredients; items that are mostly in my pantry with just a few special extras.  Initially, I was concerned that this French cooking experience would find me searching regularly for unusual ingredients.  Not so.  This recipe is actually for "lazy" folks.  Not only was it easy, it was absolutely delicious!

Lovely Fresh Herbs:  Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano, and Garlic

The recipe invites the chicken to be roasted at 400^  using a Dutch oven; my cast iron pot.  This was new to me as I usually roast my meats slowly for a longer time and use a covered traditional style roaster pan.  Because of the high temperatures and the practically sealed pot, the chicken was well done in record time.

A new feature for me:  place bread in the bottom of the Dutch oven before adding the chicken.  Purpose:  Imbibe the juices from the chicken and become a crispy treat during the roasting process.

This bird is ready to roast!

I cleaned and chunked the veges while the chicken roasted half-way.  After only 45 minutes I added my veges, and then decided that I wanted to eat lots of veges because they were looking really good to me, so, I added LOTS more.  Right at this point, my son-in-law stopped by and seriously wanted to stay for dinner...but being the great guy he is, he went home to my daughter wondering what would be waiting for his dining pleasure this evening???  (Actually, he is a lucky guy, my daughter is a great cook!)

For the vegetables, I used: small red potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, and an onion.  These high water content veges added their own sauce to the pot and caused the chicken to be smothered in their juices.  Because I thought the extra veges would certainly add at least an extra 30 minutes  to the roasting time, I went outside to mow the lawn.  I know, most of the country is either raking autumn’s last leaves or getting ready to shovel snow, but we, here in AZ are mowing our beautiful, very green, winter lawns.

Half Roasted Chicken...Actually it is more done than I thought tie would be after only 45 minutes.

Veges Added to the Chicken...actually, I will find a larger pan for the next roasting...not enough room in this pan to go anywhere but on top of the chicken.

And then I added LOTS of veges.  And I'm happy that I did!!!

Well, I could have taken the chicken with extra veges out of the oven without the extra time...the whole thing was probably finished after a total of 90 minutes roasting time.  But, the well-done roasted chicken and veges were wonderful!   Not as pretty a chicken as others I have viewed in your photographs, but ....oh my, the meat was just about falling off the bones and sooooo juicy.  And the veges had plenty of “sauce” and were practically perfect.  The blend of herbs, olive oil, and some salt and pepper was just right.  Hubby thought it was all really good.  And that’s what counts, right?

And here it is all cooked.  YUM!

If I had made a roasted chicken with vegetables before knowing about Dorie’s recipe, I would not have added the bread, olive oil or garlic, and I would have roasted this meal slowly in a covered roasting pan at a much lower temperature.  I learned that using the Dutch oven sped up the process, and resulted in a juicy, tender meal with all the herb flavors infused wonderfully through the dish.  Fabulous!  This is what I hoped for when I signed up to be part of this experience.  New ideas, better ways to do things in the kitchen, and fabulous results.  Thanks, Dorie for another “keeper” recipe...and yes, I washed the chicken.

 Juicy and Delicious!

Note:  I've decided, after reading the "questions" section on this dish, that had I roasted my chicken without the Dutch oven lid on, the chicken would have crispy skin and less "sauce".  Because we loved the flavors, juiciness, and the wonderful aroma all through the house from leaving the lid on,  (and no splattering in the oven meaning no burning smells and no mess to clean up)  I WILL LEAVE THE LID ON THE NEXT TIME I USE THIS RECIPE...it was fabulously delicious!