Orange Herb Roast Chicken with Potatoes

2-3 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes

2-4 Large carrots (or about 1/2 lb baby carrots)

1 4-7 lb chicken

1/3 cup olive oil

2-3 TBSP chopped herbs (I usually use the fresh “poultry mix” available at the grocery store, which is sage, rosemary and thyme) OR 1-2 TBSP dried poultry seasoning such as “Bell's Seasoning”

1 Orange

1-2 tsp kosher salt

½ tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. You want to start this chicken with a VERY hot oven.

Finely chop the herbs and put into a small mixing bowl.

Add the salt and pepper.

Use a microplane or grater to zest the outside of the orange into the herb mixture and set aside the orange.

Add Olive oil to the bowl and stir. Set aside. Or, puree herbs and olive oil with an immersion blender or small food processor and add orange zest afterward.

Line a roasting pan with foil (I recommend Reynolds no stick foil. It makes a HUGE difference at the end, if you don't clean up is difficult, or you're scraping tin foil bits off the potatoes).

Rough peel the potatoes to get rid of any yucky bits and chop them into 1 inch pieces.

Peel and chop the carrots into 1 inch chunks as well.

Mix the potatoes and carrots into the bottom of the foil lined roasting pan.

Drop in about a tablespoon of the herb mixture and mix it with your fingers to coat.

This is where your hands get (temporally) very messy. Arrange the chicken onto a roasting rack directly over the potatoes and carrots breast side up and separate the skin from the meat and insert the herb mixture between the skin and the meat and coat the outside as well.

Flip the chicken over and separate the thigh skin from the meat and coat the meat and skin liberally with the herb mixtuer until the it is gone. Insert the zested orange into the breast cavity. This will help flavor the meat and keep it juicy and tender at the same time. Put the chicken breast side down on the roasting rack into the 500 degree oven for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes drop the oven temperature down to 350 and continue to cook about 20 minutes per pound (including the 10 minutes at the higher temperature).

About a half hour before it's finished you can take it out and flip it over to crisp up the skin on the breast side. Let it sit for about 10-15 minutes before carving.

Decant the potatoes into a serving dish with a slotted spoon to leave the oil from the chicken in the pan.