By Irene Hayton and Carol Song

This is an easy-to-make recipe that can provide you with more than one meal. Have roast chicken and veggies on the first day, use the leftover chicken (and veggies, if you wish) for lunch or dinner the next day, and then once you’ve removed all the chicken from the carcass, use it to make chicken soup.

You’ll notice that we don’t list amounts for the veggies; how much you use will depend on how many people you’re serving and whether you want to have leftovers for the next day’s lunch or dinner. Leftover chicken can also be used in sandwiches, wraps, soups, chili, casseroles, etc. (Check out Eating Alive II for recipes.) You may even want to add another chicken; just make sure to use a bigger roasting pan and add a little more cooking time.

For the sake of convenience we used dried herbs (except for the parsley). If you prefer to use fresh herbs instead, substitute three times as much of the fresh herb for the dried.

  • ¼ teaspoon (1 ml) ground sage
  • ½ teaspoon (2 ml) rosemary
  • ½ teaspoon (2 ml) marjoram
  • ½ teaspoon (2 ml) thyme
  • pinch sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) minced fresh parsley
  • 1 whole chicken, about 3 to 5 lbs (1.4 to 2.3 kg)
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
  • 1 small lemon, thinly sliced
  • onions, peeled and chopped
  • turnips, peeled and cut into 1 inch (2.5 cm) pieces
  • red potatoes
  • sweet potato or yam
  • carrots
  • 8 to 10 cloves garlic
  • 2 to 3 teaspoons (10 to 15 ml) olive oil
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons (5 to 10 ml) sea salt
  • ¼ cup (50 ml) water

Preheat the oven to 400° F (200° C). In a small bowl, mix together the sage, rosemary, marjoram, thyme, pinch sea salt and parsley; set aside.

Cut off any excess fat from the chicken. Rinse the chicken well, inside and out, with cold water. Drain well then pat dry with paper towels. Place the chicken, breast side up, on a rack inside a roasting pan. Using the tip of a small sharp knife, gently separate the skin from the breast. Place 2 teaspoons (10 ml) of the herb mixture, half the garlic slices and 4 lemon slices on top of the breast, underneath the skin. Put another lemon slice at the point where each thigh connects to the body. Place 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of the herb mixture, the rest of the garlic slices and the rest of the lemon slices inside the cavity of the chicken.

Cut a small slit in the chicken skin just above the cavity then put the ends of the chicken legs through the slit. (Alternatively, you can tie the legs together with string.) Use small wooden or metal skewers to close the cavity; this helps to retain moisture. If you have one, insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh making sure it doesn’t touch bone. Arrange the onion and turnip pieces around the chicken, sprinkle with a little bit of water, put the cover on the roasting pan and bake at 400° F (200° C) for 30 minutes.

While the chicken is roasting, prepare the rest of the vegetables: quarter the red potatoes; peel the sweet potato or yam and cut into 1½ inch (4 cm) pieces; peel the carrots and cut into thick matchsticks (about 2 inches/5 cm long and ½ inch/1 cm thick); and peel the garlic cloves. Put all these veggies into a large bowl and mix with enough olive oil and sea salt to lightly coat them.

After the chicken has finished roasting for the first 30 minutes, remove it from the oven and reduce the temperature to 325° F (170° C). Arrange the remaining prepared veggies around the chicken, add the water and return the roasting pan to the oven for a further 1 to 2 hours (about 1 hour for a 3 lb/1.4 kg chicken and 2 hours for a 5 lb/2.3 kg). Remove the lid during the last 20 to 30 minutes to brown the chicken. The chicken is done when the meat thermometer reads 180° F and/or the juices run clear when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced with a fork.

Remove the chicken to a carving board and put the veggies in a serving bowl and cover to keep warm. Skim off any visible fat from the liquid in the roasting pan, then bring it to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-high and cook the liquid until it is reduced by about half, for approximately 10 minutes, while you cut up the chicken.

Serve the chicken with the roast veggies and pan juices. Round out the meal by adding a cooked leafy green vegetable, such as broccoli. You can steam the broccoli for about 4 minutes while you’re cutting the chicken and reducing the pan juices. Makes 4 to 6 servings.