Normandy chicken

When it comes to hearty and flavorful fall meals a roasted chicken is a delicious option. It matches well with root vegetables which are at their freshest in the fall. If you watch for an oven roaster to go on sale this is also a very budget friendly meal. Roast chicken Normandy is a family favorite recipe at our house.

You should have a large roasting pan and some rosemary, salt and pepper, cinnamon sticks, mulling spices, and olive oil. You will need to make a trip to the grocery to get a 6-8 pound roasting chicken, a half-gallon of local apple cider, two Macintosh apples, purple turnips, parsnips, carrots, an onion, sweet potatoes and red skinned potatoes.

Stop and the local liquor store and get a small bottle of Calvados. With this grocery list, you have the ingredients for a luscious fall meal and a great cocktail to add to the heartiness of the meal.

Recipe

6-8 lb oven roaster chicken
3 large potatoes
1 large sweet potato
1 large yellow onion
3 large carrots
3 large parsnips
5 small turnips
2 apples
½ cup plus 1 tbsp EVOO
1 tbsp plus 2 tsp rosemary
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
½ cup Calvados (or apple juice)

Take the chicken out of its wrapper, remove the giblet package and discard, wash the chicken and place in the roasting pan. Cut one of the apples into quarters and place inside the chicken. Rub or brush one tablespoon of olive oil on the chicken, sprinkle the 2 tsp. rosemary over the skin of the chicken and add a little salt and pepper to taste.

Get out a large bowl and a cutting board. You don't need to peel any of the vegetables except the onion. Peel an onion and cut into large chunks and place in the bowl. Cut the potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, turnip and carrots and add to the bowl. Pour in ½ cup olive oil, 1 tbs rosemary, 1 tsp each salt and pepper and toss.

Core an apple and cut into pieces and add along with ½ cup of Calvados. Pour the vegetables around the chicken. 

Spread evenly and place in a 450-degree oven. The chicken needs to reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees. How long it will take depends on your oven and the size of the bird. Check at 45 minutes and with a wooden spoon; stir the vegetables so that they will brown all the way around. 7 lbs will take almost 2 hours to cook.

While the vegetables are cooking you can turn the cider into mulled cider. Warm the cider with the mulling spices in a sauce pan, you will need to follow the quantity direction on your spices and the mixture will need to be strained. Place in an Irish coffee cup with a cinnamon stick and a shot of Calvados for adults.

When the chicken is at 165 degrees, remove from oven and allow to rest. Move to a serving platter with the vegetables placed all around it. This will serve 4 people with leftovers.