Roast Chicken & Carrots

There is nothing more comforting to me than a roast chicken. I place the carrots underneath and around the chicken while it roasts and they turn out slightly soft and sweet. I love onions and add them to everything so I also slice onions and add them with the carrots.

1 4-5 Pound Whole Chicken

1 Pound Carrots, cleaned, peeled and sliced into 2 inch long pieces

Onion (Optional)

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Herbs of Choice

Cast Iron Pan or pan of choice

Method: Take chicken out of fridge and allow to come to room temperature, approx. 1 hour. Pat dry with paper towels. This helps the skin to crisp more. I spatchcock (butterfly) my chicken (remove the backbone) so that the chicken will lay flat in pan and it cooks quicker and more evenly.

Pre-heat oven to 400*

Wash, peel and cut the carrots. Place in pan and sprinkle with salt, pepper and toss with olive oil.

Place chicken in the pan. Generously salt, pepper and oil the entire chicken. If using herbs, add those as well. I frequently use rosemary, thyme and sage from my garden. I chop them finely.

Roast in pre-heated oven approx. 45 minutes to 1 hour turning halfway through until browned and juices run clear. Check the internal temperature of chicken and make sure it reaches 165 degrees.

Cover with foil and rest x 15 minutes. This helps to keep the chicken moist. (If you can wait that long :)

Enjoy!