Roast Chicken and Root Vegetables with Braised Artichokes

With the holidays - I have severely fallen behind on my blogger duties. I was spoiled by some incredible meals before Derek left for South Carolina - pork, steak, roast chicken (below). And then the food frenzy continued over the holidays. While I'd like to think I'm "fooded out" from the over abundance that characterizes the holidays...I still find myself intrigued by new recipes to try - just hopefully they stay on the lighter side (for the most part).

This Roast Chicken recipe would probably fall in the OK category for the health-focused start to the New Year. It also follows the common trend for my recent posts having come from Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc at Home. I cannot say more positive things about what this cookbook can do for a home-cook - taking basic recipes and instructing them to perfection. Once again, his recipe was a success.

Below is the original recipe from the book. Derek modified it a bit to fit the vegetables that we had - I think that portion of the recipe can lend way to some interpretation. However, the basics with preparing the chicken were followed to a T.

Thomas Keller's Roast Chicken with Root Vegetables
from Ad Hoc at Home

One 4 to 4 1/2 lb chicken
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
6 thyme sprigs
2 large leeks (did not use)
3 tennis-ball-sized rutabagas (did not use - used parsnips instead)
2 tennis-ball-sized turnips (used)
4 medium carrots, peeled, trimmed, and cut in half (used)
1 small yellow onion, trimed, leaving root end intact, and cut into quarters (did not use)
8 small (golf-ball-sized) red-skinned potatoes (did not use)
1/3 cup canola oil
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until it comes to room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 475 F.

Remove the neck and innards if they are still in the cavity of the chicken. Using a paring knife, cut out the wishbone from the chicken. (This will make it easier to carve the chicken.) Generously season the cavity of the chicken with salt and pepper, add 3 of the garlic cloves and 5 sprigs of thyme, and massage the inside of the bird to infuse it with the flavors. Truss the chicken.

Cut off the dark green leaves from the top of the leeks. Trim off and discard the darkened outer layers. Trim the root ends, cutting around them on a 45-degree angle. Slit the leeks lengthwise almost in half, starting 1/2 inch above the root ends. Rinse the leeks well under warm water.

Cut off both ends of the rutabagas. Stand the rutabagas on end and cut away the skin, working from top to bottom and removing any tough outer layers. Cut into 3/4-inch wedges. Repeat with the turnips, cutting the wedges to match the size of the rutabagas.

Combine all the vegetables and remaining garlic cloves and thyme sprig in a large bowl. Toss with 1/4 cup of the oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread the vegetables in a large cast-iron skillet or a roasting pan.

Rub the remaining oil over the chicken. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Make a nest in the center of the vegetables and nestle the chicken in it.

Cut the butter into 4 or 5 pieces and place over the chicken breast.

Put the chicken in the oven and roast for 25 minutes. Reduce the heat to 400 F and roast for an additional 45 minutes, or until the temperature registers 160 F in the meatiest portions of the bird--the thighs, and under the breast where the thigh meets the breast--and the juices run clear. If necessary, return the bird to the oven for more roasting; check it every 5 minutes.

Transfer the chicken to a carving board and let rest for 20 minutes.

Just before serving, set the pan of vegetables over medium heat and reheat the vegetables, turning them and glaazing them with the pan juices.

Cut the chicken into serving pieces, arrange over the vegetables and serve.

Derek served this with another addition from the Ad Hoc "Bible" - probably an OK term to use at this point...Braised Artichokes. Artichokes may be expensive and a good bit of work to prepare (peeling away the outer layers to expose the softer artichoke heart) but it all seems worth it when you bite into a perfectly tenderized artichoke sprinkled with some fleur de sel.
artichokes during the braising process:

...and the completed meal...

Given that we paid $25 dollars for a single chicken - a surprise that just about gave us a heart attack...I'm really glad this was good. I was then left to eat the leftovers for the next few days as Derek jetted off to the East Coast - which I gladly did so. Moist, tender - potentially in need of a squeeze of lemon on the chicken breast for a tad bit more flavor - but overall, a perfectly cooked chicken. And the root vegetables were delectable, cooking in the fat and juices of the chicken - perhaps not he best description in the world but if anyone has had the potato wedges sold from Roli Roti, the rotisserie chicken truck, that are cooked in the drippings of the ever rotating chickens - well then you know what I'm talking about. A meld of flavors that comforting and hearty - and perhaps, not too scale tipping at the end of the day.