Roast Chicken on Potatoes

Notes

• You might think this dish is about the chicken. Wrong! It is all about the potatoes swimming in chicken fat.
• The chicken does have its purpose, though. Since you are using a whole chicken, after dinner separate the chicken from the carcass and turn that into chicken stock for chicken soup.
• Cooking this always takes longer than I expect. Plan accordingly.
• If you don't have an oven thermometer with a temperature alarm, now is the time to get one.
• You can adjust the amount of potato crispiness by adjusting that first cooking time without the bird. Be careful, though, it doesn't take much to end up with really crispy (which I actually like) or over-done potatoes.

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken
• Several potatoes, washed, unpeeled and cut into cubes (red or russet--I used to use just red but, it turns out, it doesn't really matter)
• Minced garlic
• EV olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• ½ onion
• Fresh rosemary (if available)

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 415°.
2. Combine potatoes, enough olive oil to coat them, a few tablespoons of garlic, and salt & pepper to taste in roasting pan.
3. Place in oven for 30 minutes.
4. Rinse bird then stuff with onion and a sprig of rosemary.
5. Place sprigs of rosemary under breast skin, one on each half.
6. After the 30 minutes, take the pan out of the oven. Place bird in the pan, set thermometer alarm to 170°, and insert probe into breast. Place pan back in oven.
7. Cook for another 30 minutes.
8. Set oven to 350°, take pan out of oven, cover with aluminum foil, and place back in oven until done (when the alarm goes off).