It’s definitely time for some comfort food.
We all know that 2020 has been something else. Definitely not the year we probably thought it would be when the ball dropped at midnight on December 31st.
This past weekend was a tough one, hearing about the loss of Chadwick Boseman devastated me. I think the tragedy and gravity of it certainly had something to do with how I felt but I also think it just brought to the surface all the feelings of sadness and stress that I’ve been carrying around these last few months. Must be The Individualist (Enneagram 4) in me.
Nothing that a little comfort food couldn’t help.
I sometimes think that the best comfort food is the simplest. Those dishes that we crave when we are feeling sad are only made of a few key ingredients. There might actually be something to the idea of food made with love.
One of the reasons I love roasting a whole chicken is because it’s a dish that keeps on giving. I can save myself on time and stress by roasting a chicken on Sunday and then using some of it in dishes for the next few days. With us being forever in our homes this is actually a godsend. Choosing a simple preparation helps make this even easier so you aren’t worrying about competing with different flavors or cooking treatments. If you decide to eat the whole chicken in one night that works too and I won’t judge.
Whole Roasted Chicken
Notes
I purchased a chicken that was already spatchcocked but you can do this yourself if you are up for it. Lots of how-to videos out there to show you how!
Ingredients
- Whole Chicken (or Spatchcock)
- 1/2 White Onion
- 2 Carrots
- 2 Celery Stalks
- 1 Lemon
- 2 Tsp. Thyme
- 1 Tsp. Garlic Powder
- Kosher Salt
- Pepper
- Olive Oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425.
- Slice lemon into thin slices.
- Roughly chop up carrots, celery, and onions and toss in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper.
- If you are using a whole chicken you can stuff the cavity with a few lemon slices, carrot, celery, onion mixture.
- If you are using a spatchcock chicken you can line your baking sheet with the chopped vegetables. The chicken will sit on top.
- Season the chicken with garlic powder, thyme, salt and pepper.
- Drizzle olive oil all over the chicken and gently massage the chicken until everything is covered and seasoned.
- If you are cooking a whole chicken, tuck the wing tips under the chicken to prevent burning.
- Roast the chicken in the oven for 25 minutes.
- After 25 minutes check to make sure there aren’t parts that are browning too quickly (you can cover these parts with foil if they are starting to brown/burn).
- Continue roasting until the chicken is cooked through. A spatchcock chicken will cook faster than a whole chicken.
