Cooking, and food that is in vogue at a particular time, changes constantly.
In my early years of cooking, my favorite magazines (Food and Wine, Gourmet and Bon Appetit) touted French and Italian cooking. Those dishes remain my favorites today. Asian-influenced cuisine seemed to come next. Now, as I browse current cooking magazines, the recipes contain many ingredients I’ve never heard of or know where to obtain.
A current trend is “one pan cooking.” One pan as in “sheet pan” which, for me, is more difficult than the cooking gurus would have you believe (lots of last-minute activity going on here).
But one of my favorite Italian cookbook authors, chef and restaurant owner, Lidia Bastianich, has published a small cookbook of her favorite recipes. Many of them are her versions of the “one pan” trend. But hers are really one pot dinners (maybe Italians have been doing this for a while).
I am totally in love with Lidia’s roast chicken. I have been making it at least once a week and find I can alternate several of the ingredients with success. You can add a green salad to the meal but, with all the vegetables in this dish, it is all you need for an almost hands-off dinner. It really is “one pot!”
One of the keys to making a great roast chicken is a good, heavy casserole dish so that all the good chicken juices are retained. I have a mid-sized oval Le Creuset “Dutch oven” that is perfect. These types of roasting vessels are forgiving if your meal has spent a little extra time in the oven.
One Pan Roast Chicken
Ingredients
- One whole small chicken, about 3½ to 4 pounds
- A mix of root vegetables such as yellow gold potatoes, whole carrots, turnips, sweet onions, butternut squash or sweet potatoes, all peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes. (I change this up every time I make this chicken; heavy on the potatoes for me!)
- Mixed chopped fresh herbs. Sometimes, I only use parsley. Add what you like or none at all. A single bay leaf adds an interesting flavor.
- Good olive oil or sweet, unsalted butter. I alternate between the two but use plenty to cover the bird.
- At least 2 cups of braising liquid: beer, white wine or chicken broth.
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Scrub and peel the root vegetables you have chosen. If you are using very small “new” potatoes, you can leave them whole and unpeeled. Place them all in your casserole dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Dry the chicken thoroughly with paper towels. No need to tie up the legs and wings.
- Spread olive oil or softened butter all over the chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Good sea salt really amps up the flavor. Sprinkle chopped parsley or herbs, if using, over all.
- Pour your chosen braising liquid all around the chicken. Two cups seems like a lot, but you need to moisten the chicken when serving. (Beer sounds odd, but it works!)
- Cover the pot and place in a pre-heated, 350-degree oven. Roast for 2 to 2½ hours until the chicken is golden brown. When done, the chicken should practically fall off the bone.
- Lift the chicken and vegetables onto a platter and drench them with the braising liquid. Everything should be soft and tender.
Welcome to a new favorite fall and winter dinner—great for Sunday dinner but works on weeknights too.
The French call this stew-like dish “Pot au Feu” or “pot on fire,” and the Italians, “Bollito Misto.” I think you will call it delicious.
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