To be roasted.
It’s hard to be an ineffectual roaster. Beginning preparations allow a gentle entry into the pre-dinner work and wait ritual. Those muted sizzles and crackling heard stimulate the senses and you tick towards an even higher degree of anticipation. And, midway, great puffs of warmth envelop you as you check in to move a vegetable or two around and coo at your creation. You know, once a chef told me (you know, through the T.V.) to be bold.
Let’s.
When I first started cooking in the kitchen by myself, I was worried about flavor combination. Like, I wasn’t sure if I could trust what I wanted to put together. So, what did I do? I played. Played around until I got comfortable with being unsure of myself. It’s a darn practice, sweet angels. You can build the trust by trusting that you don’t know.
Lavender Thyme Roast Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken preferably free-range, pasture-fed, local, yadda, approx. 3.5 lbs
- 3 tablespoons softened butter or bacon fat
- 2 tablespoons sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried lavender gently crushed
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme gently crushed
- 1/2 head purple cabbage cut into large wedges
- 4 large carrots peeled and cut into large chunks
- 1 medium onion cut into medium-sized wedges
- 3 tablespoons liquid balsamic vinegar, white wine, chicken stock, water, citrus juice (optional)
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375. Grease bottom of large roasting pan.
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Place cut cabbage, onions and carrots in one layer.
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Combine salt, pepper, paprika, lavender and thyme in small bowl. Set aside.
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Put whole chicken, breast side up, on top of vegetables (either A: truss him as you see fit with kitchen twine B: use a toothpick to hold the feet together and tuck his wings under or C: or don't worry about it).
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Using the remaining two tablespoons of bacon fat (or butter), generously coat the entire chicken.
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Rub salt mixture over every nook and cranny of that bird.
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Place on middle rack in oven and bake for 20 minutes per pound, plus an additional 15 minutes. Halfway through, stir the vegetables around a bit.
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Take out and remove the bird to a platter to rest for 10 minutes.
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Set on a medium-high burner, deglaze the roasting tray with all the vegetables in it (this is an optional, but quite tasty step) using the liquid or liquid mixture of your choice.
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Use a wooden spoon and scrap the bottom of the pan while the liquid cooks off, about 3 minutes.
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Place vegetables around the chicken and serve to yourself and three others.