Roasted Chicken with Lemon, Herbs, & Root Vegetables

Serves 4-6

Bright flavours enhance this deliciously roasted chicken! Lemon lends its magic in two ways – the juice and the flavourful peel. The pairing of fresh rosemary and thyme with the lemon completes the delicious flavour profile. The chicken stays juicy thanks to the compound butter tucked under the skin of the chicken. The complementary roasted root vegetables make this chicken dinner a hearty and warming autumn meal.

Ingredients:

1 (5-6 pound) whole chicken
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, softened
2 sprigs rosemary, leaves removed and minced
2 tablespoons thyme leaves, stripped from the stem
1 large lemon, zested, halved and sliced
6 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 onion, sliced in chunks
3-5 carrots, sliced on a diagonal
3 beets, sliced in half moons
1 sweet potato, halved and sliced in 1 to 2-inch slices
2 Yukon gold potatoes, halved and sliced
Olive oil for drizzling for roasting vegetables

Directions:

(1) Preheat the oven to 400°F. Prepare the chicken for roasting by removing any chicken parts stored in the neck and/or inner cavities. (Do not wash or rinse the chicken – experts say the process of washing the chicken can disperse bacteria around the kitchen; better to handle less and roast the chicken well.) Place the chicken, breast-side up in a heavy roasting pan that’s been generously oiled.

(2) In a small bowl, with a sturdy fork or spoon, or by using a hand mixer on low speed, mix the butter, rosemary, thyme leaves, zest of one lemon, salt, and pepper. 

(3) Separate the skin from the chicken in the breast area using a spoon or your fingers. Tuck in half the compound butter in these pockets under the skin. Place the lemon quarters and garlic cloves inside the chicken’s cavity. Tie the legs together using baking twine and tuck the wings under the chicken. Smear the remaining compound butter all over the outside of the chicken. Salt and pepper the outside of the chicken.

(4) Prep the roasting vegetables by slicing. Place the roasting vegetables in the pan and drizzle with a little olive oil. Rest the prepared chicken on top. Add the remaining lemon slices around the vegetables.

(5) Roast the chicken, uncovered, for 60-90 minutes. Continue roasting until the thickest part of chicken reaches 165°F. Loosely tent the top with aluminum foil if it is browning too quickly.

(6) Transfer the roasted chicken to a cutting board for carving, or to a platter if carving at the table.