Whole chicken with roasted potatoes and turnips

Whole chickens are very affordable.  They are useful for roasting or boiling with celery, onions, and bay leaf to make stock or soup directly.  Stock is useful to keep on hand for risotto or stir fry, two things I make a ton of!  I've made a soup from a whole chicken that was pre-roasted and it was delicious!  The bones simmering really adds nice flavor to the stock.  Roasted chickens are nice to just eat plain or make into chicken salad for sandwiches.

I grabbed a 3lb chicken from the store and decided to roast it with potatoes and turnips from my local farm CSA.  Turnips are in season!  This recipe is modified from Bittman's cookbook.  Clean the chicken by grabbing out the neck and insides and toss them (gross!), then rinse the chicken inside and out and pat it dry with a paper towel.  Chop some red potatoes into eighths and turnips into fourths. 

In a small bowl, combine 6 Tbsp olive oil with herbs like rosemary, parsley, oregano, salt, and pepper.  Using a brush, coat your potatoes and turnips in the bottom of your roasting pan with the olive oil and herb mixture.  Place your chicken on top of a surface that suspends it above the potatoes.  I like to set my chicken so it sits up just a bit and liquids don't pool in the chest cavity.  Face the back side up first.  Don't brush it yet!

• Cook at 425 for 20 minutes.  The skin should be browning.
• Brush the back side with olive oil, toss the potatoes, turn the chicken breast side up and cook for 10 minutes or until the breast begins to brown.
• Turn the oven down to 325, brush the breast side of the chicken with the rest of your olive oil, toss the potatoes, and cook for 30 more minutes.  I bet it's done, but check for safety.  The thermometer should read at least 165 in the thickest part of the thigh.  Cook 10-15 minutes longer if necessary.  

Rosemary and olive oil-roasted whole chicken with roasted red potatoes and turnips. 

Eat what you'd like for dinner with the potatoes, turnips, and a salad of seasonal greens, then use the rest for chicken salad sandwiches for lunches!  

Chicken Salad:  just add mayo, celery, Lawry's seasoning salt, and cherry tomatoes or grapes to your chopped chicken.  Some like to add toasted walnuts.  Serve on toasted bread.