Roasted Rosemary Chicken and Root Vegetables

Fall has crept in.  The chillier air has allowed this Brooklyn-ite to fire up her stove without the fear of heating the apartment to an unbearable temperature.  Summer was a whirlwind of weddings, road trips, flights and outdoor drinking sessions.  Getting back to the kitchen, back to a domestic pace has been a nice change from all the buzzing around.  Now I can resume my weekly trips to the farmers market, trips which I unfortunately passed up during those months where produce was at its sexiest; plump red tomatoes, berries and stone fruit.  Well, There is just as much beauty in the root vegetable.  Dimmer colors for a dimmer season.  I won’t enjoy emerging from my office at 6pm to pitch black darkness, but shorter days just come with the territory.  Tis the season for coming home, slipping on fuzzy socks and roasting up some chicken and vegetables that will last a few meals.  I hope you enjoy this Fall staple of mine.


Makes 2 entrée servings

2 small bone-in skin-on chicken breasts (about 2 1/2 pounds total)

1 small russet potato, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 small sweet potato, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 large carrot, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 small yellow onion, cut into 1 inch pieces

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh or dried rosemary, plus extra for stuffing under chicken skin

2 teaspoons coarse salt, plus more to salt the chicken skin

1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 425.  Sprinkle the chicken skin liberally with salt (salt draws out the moisture in the skin allowing it to get extra crispy in the oven).  Jam a pinch of rosemary under the skin of each breast.

Place the chicken on a baking sheet and set aside.

Place all vegetables, olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl and toss to coat.  Spread out vegetables around the chicken making sure they're not crowded (if they are crowded, place surplus vegetables on a separate baking sheet). 

Place chicken and vegetables in the oven, cooking for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through (juices run clear when chicken is pierced or a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees F at the thickest part of the chicken) and the vegetables are super soft at the touch of a fork.  Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.