My friend Mike is back with another great recipe. Here he spatchcocks the chicken so it roasts faster and more evenly, keeping the white meat just as juicy as the dark. See Mike’s other posts here.
This is a relatively simple and wonderfully delicious way to roast chicken. The juices from the chicken baste the vegetables while they roast together, while the mustard and herbs de Provence pair very well. And it’s much quicker than many other roast chicken recipes! The recipe was inspired by Jacques Pepin’s “Fast Food My Way” TV series.
Dijon Chicken with Roasted Vegetables
- 1 whole chicken
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 4 cloves garlic, minced or passed through a garlic press
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2-3 teaspoons herbs de Provence
- 2 tablespoons dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
An assortment of any vegetables you would like to roast. I used:
- 3 ribs celery, cut into inch and a half pieces
- 4 medium carrots cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 1/2 lbs new potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 medium onion, cut into 1-inch chunks
For the vegetables:
Begin by preheating the oven to 375. Prepare the vegetables, toss with the teaspoon of olive oil, a pinch of salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Spread them on the bottom of a roasting pan large enough to hold the chicken, and put the in the oven. You’ll want to cook the veggies for 15-20 minutes before you add the chicken. If the are browning too much or sticking to the bottom of the pan, add a splash of stock, white wine, or water.
For the chicken:
Cut along either side of the chicken’s backbone using a knife or a pair of kitchen shears. Save the backbone for stock. Break the breastbone so the chicken can lie flat. Trim the bird of any large chunks of fat or skin. Make a cut into the joint where the leg meets the thigh and where the wing meets the breast. This helps these parts cook more quickly, so by the time they are done the breast will still be very moist. Loosen the skin over the breast, legs, and thighs.
Combine mustard, garlic, pepper, salt, herbs de Provence, white wine, and oil. Whisk until emulsified. Rub this mixture under the chicken skin, on the inside of the breast, and on the skin.
Once the vegetables have cooked for 15-20 minutes, remove them from the oven. Set a rack in the roasting pan on top of the veggies and place the chicken on top, with the skin facing up.
Bake until a thermometer inserted between the breast and thigh registers 160. This took about 35 minutes in my oven. Remove the pan from the oven, cover it in foil, and allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes.
While resting the internal temperature of the chicken will rise at least another 5 degrees to the recommended 165.
Cut the chicken into pieces
and serve with the vegetables and juices from the pan. Using a clean pair of kitchen shears to cut up the chicken in the pan makes this a lot less messy.
