Roast Chicken with Root Vegetables

Ingredients

0 of 15 out on the counter

• 1 whole chicken, about 4 lb
• ½ tsp salt, for the chicken
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil, for the chicken
• 1 lemon, halved
• 1½ lb carrots, scrubbed, cut into 1½-inch pieces
• 1 lb small Yukon gold potatoes, halved
• 12 oz parsnips, peeled, cut into 1½-inch pieces
• 1 large onion (about 10 oz peeled), cut into 8 wedges
• 4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 2 tbsp olive oil, for the vegetables
• ¼ tsp salt, for the vegetables

All set! Everything is out. Time to bake.

Method

1. 1Pat the chicken dry. Mix the ½ tsp salt, paprika, garlic powder, thyme and pepper, and rub it all over the bird. Leave it uncovered in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or overnight, so the skin dries.
2. 2Heat the oven to 425 °F with a rack in the lower third. Take the chicken out of the fridge while it heats.
3. 3Toss the carrots, potatoes, parsnips, onion and garlic with the 2 tbsp oil and ¼ tsp salt in a large roasting pan. Spread them in one layer.
4. 4Rub the 1 tbsp oil over the chicken. Squeeze the lemon over it, put both halves in the cavity, and tuck the wing tips under. Set the chicken, breast up, on the vegetables.
5. 5Roast 60 to 75 minutes. Stir the vegetables once at the 40-minute mark. The chicken is done when the skin is deep gold, the juices run clear, and an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh and in the breast reads 165 °F.
6. 6Move the chicken to a board and rest it 15 minutes. Put the pan of vegetables back in the oven for those 15 minutes if they are not yet browned and tender.
7. 7Carve, pull the skin off at the table, and serve six plates over the vegetables, with the pan juices spooned on. Cool leftovers no more than 2 hours, then refrigerate. Reheat to 165 °F.