There are as many ways to roast a chicken as there are cooks. This basic method is my favourite. Roasting the chicken perched on top of a thick bed of vegetables not only helps you prepare an entire meal at once but also guarantees that not a drop of flavour is lost. You can also skip all the normal laborious of slicing by simply shredding the meat into the works and tossing together a pan stew of sorts!

Yield: Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

For the vegetable base
1 medium butternut squash, cut into large chunks
2 apples, cut into large chunks
2 large onions, chopped
1 head of garlic, separated into cloves and peeled
2 tablespoons (30 mL) of vegetable oil
1 tablespoon (15 mL) of ground cumin
1 teaspoon (5 mL) of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) of salt
Lots of freshly ground pepper

For the chicken
A fresh whole chicken (3 to 4 pounds/1.4 to 1.8 kg)
1 teaspoon (5 mL) of salt
Lots of freshly ground pepper

Procedure

Preheat your oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Turn on your convection fan if you have one. Get out your largest, heaviest roasting pan, large enough to hold the chicken.

Toss together the butternut squash, apples, onions, garlic cloves, oil, cumin, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Fill the roasting pan with a thick even layer of the mixture.

Season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. Nestle it breast side up into the vegetable mixture. Bake until the chicken and vegetables are tender, lightly browned, delicious and an instant read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thighs registers at least 165° (75ºC), about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Remove the pan from the oven. Using 2 sets of tongs, and with the chicken still in the pan, pull the meat from the bones. Save the bones to make a broth if you wish. Gently toss the shredded chicken with the squash and apples, and serve directly from the pan.

© Chef Michael Smith – #HalfYourPlate