new mom roast chicken

I've decided to add a new section to the blog- New Mom Food.

What is New Mom Food? Think about those first months with a newborn- frequent, long feedings. The feeling of not having time to do much but still having some of that nesting instinct. And if you have other kids? Forget it. There's not enough time in a day. So you need recipes that are good, low prep, and easy.

This is a recipe that I used for Christmas dinner. I walked into the coop, saw how much ham was (insane!) and decided that we would have a nice roast chicken instead. Now, I have not cooked a whole chicken for many years, but luckily, we are staying for the next 3 months at my sister's house. As in my sister, owner of a whole wall of cookbooks from all over the world, kitchen with six burners and awesome cookware. I was not worried.

I called her up, and she immediately knew the recipe I should use- Roast Chicken for Les Paresseux, or Roast Chicken for Lazy People (really!). I have re-christened it "New Mom Roast Chicken", because it truly is that easy. I found it in the book Around My French Table: More Than 300 recipes From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan, which I fully intend to steal when we leave (just kidding, Z).

Delicious, simple, healthy, easy: This is the new mom's dream. Try it!

New Mom Roast Chicken

Ingredients
Olive oil
1 thick slice bread or 2 slices baguette
1 chicken, 4-5 pounds, preferably organic, at room temperature
Salt and fresh ground pepper
2 sprigs each rosemary, thyme and oregano
1 garlic head, cut horizontally in half, unpeeled


Optional
2/3 cup or dry white wine or water
4 baby potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
2 carrots, trimmed, peeled and cut into thick chunks
4 shallots, left whole or 1 onion, quartered

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F.

2. Rub the inside of a Dutch oven or other large high-sided lidded casserole (I used my sisters Le Creusset, love) with olive oil and place the bread in the center of the pot.

3. Rub the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. Put the liver, if you have it, in the chicken (take it out afterwards and spread it on bread for a yummy snack) and toss in a half sprig of each of the herbs as well as one half of the garlic.

4. Put the chicken in the pot, resting it on the bread.

5. Put the other garlic half in the pot, along with the remaining herbs, a little olive oil, and the wine or water if you're using it.

6. Cover and slide the pot in the oven.

7. If you are roasting the veggies with the chicken, put them in after 45 minutes. Toss the veggies with olive oil, salt and pepper and scatter them around the chicken.

8. Roast the chicken for about 90 minutes total undisturbed, until the juices run clear when you pierce the thickest part of the thigh with a knife.

9. Remove chicken from oven. Serve when ready.

Easy and soooo delicious. Bonus: you may even have leftovers for lunch tomorrow! Yay!