Dorie’s Roast Chicken for Lazy People [Les Paresseux]

• Olive oil

• 1 thick slice bread or 2 slices baguette

• 1 chicken, 4 ½ to 5 pounds, preferably organic at room temperature

• Salt and freshly ground pepper

• 2 sprigs each rosemary, thyme, and oregano

• 1 garlic head, cut horizontally in half, unpeeled

• About ⅔ cup dry white wine or water (optional)

• 4 baby potatoes, scrubbed and quartered (optional)

• 2 carrots, trimmed, peeled, and cut into thick chunks (optional)

• 4 shallots, left whole, or 1 onion, quartered (optional)

24 hours before you want to roast the chicken, salt the chicken all over. Place in the fridge overnight, uncovered. Don’t worry the chicken won’t be salty. What this will do is create a chicken that has crispy skin on the outside and moist, tender chicken on the inside.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Rub the inside of a Dutch oven or other large high-sided casserole with oil and place the bread and half of the garlic in the center of the pot. Season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. Put in a half sprig of each of the herbs as well as one half of the garlic. Put the chicken in the pot, resting it on the bread. Put the the remaining herbs, and pour in a few tablespoons each of oil and the wine or water. Cover and slide the pot into the oven.

If you’d like to roast the vegetables with the chicken, wait until the chicken has roasted for 45 minutes. Then toss the potatoes, carrots, and shallots with enough olive oil to give them a shine, season generously with salt and pepper, and scatter them around the chicken. Roast the chicken undisturbed for about 45 minutes more — a total of about 90 minutes — or until the skin is crackly and crisp and the juices run clear when you pierce the thickest part of the thigh with the tip of a knife. Remove the chicken from the oven.

Place the chicken on a cutting board, cover with foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Carve.

Should you want a little pan sauce — and you’ll only get a little — spoon the vegetables, if you’ve got them, into a bowl, remove the bread, and skim off as much of the fat remaining in the pot as possible. Put the pot over high heat, and then the liquid boils, pour in about ½ cup wine or water and cook, scraping up whatever bits may have stuck to the bottom of the pot. Remove from the heat.

Pair with a rich and creamy California Chardonnay, a Beaujolais Gamay or a Pinot Noir.

Recipe courtesy of Dorie Greenspan