Perfect Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

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Photography by Alcides Aguasvivas {Instagram @alcides.eats}

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Perfect Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

Yield: 4-6

Author: Kathleen Pagán

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 1 H & 30 MInactive time: 20 MinTotal time: 2 H & 10 M

Ingredients

For the Sofrito

• ½ red onion
• ½ red pepper
• ½ green pepper
• 4 garlic cloves
• Handful of fresh cilantro
• Handful of culantro / recao
• Up to ¼ cup water, as needed

For the Chicken + Vegetables

• 1 5 lb. whole chicken
• 1 lemon, cut in half
• 1 head of garlic, cut in half crosswise
• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 1 large yellow onion, cut into large pieces
• 4 medium carrots, chopped into about 3-inch chunks
• 1 lb. baby potatoes, quartered
• Garlic powder, to taste
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Begin by preheating the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Make the sofrito: Begin by roughly chopping the vegetables. Then, in a food processor or blender, blend together the ingredients with a small splash of water until it forms a smooth paste. You’re looking for a thick, spoonable paste, not something watery.
3. Remove the chicken giblets, then rinse the chicken inside and out. Pat the chicken completely dry.
4. Gently loosen the skin over the breast with your fingers, being careful not to tear it. Rub the softened butter and some of the sofrito underneath the skin, spreading both evenly over the breast meat.
5. Add a little more sofrito into the cavity of the chicken, then stuff the cavity with both halves of the lemon and both halves of the head of garlic.
6. Place the chicken into a roasting pan or cast-iron pan. Tuck the wings under the bird and tie the legs together with kitchen string.
7. Add the carrots, potatoes, and yellow onion around the chicken. Season the vegetables and the outside of the chicken generously with kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Drizzle everything with olive oil, making sure the chicken is fully coated so it roasts beautifully and develops a caramelized skin.
8. Roast for about 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken registers 165°F.
9. Remove from the oven and allow the chicken to rest for about 20 minutes before slicing. Serve with the roasted vegetables.