Roasted Rosemary Chicken and Herb Roasted Potatoes

This hearty dish satisfies those comfort-food cravings. Serve a fresh garden salad on the side to round out the meal.

We paired this meal with Anchor Brewing Company’s Anchor Steam beer. I thought the earthy characteristics of the hops blended well with the savory rosemary and herbs. However, my husband thought the beer overpowered the flavors of the dish. Try it and let me know what you think.

Roasted Rosemary Chicken

You’ll want to start the chicken before the potatoes. We prepped the chicken and started it roasting before prepping the potatoes.

Ingredients:
4 lb whole roasting chicken
1 oz fresh rosemary stems, about 4 inches long
salt

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a roasting pan with foil and place a drip tray on top.

Take the chicken out of the package, discard anything in the cavity and drain. Run your fingers between the skin and meat on both the breast and back. Slide about 4 rosemary stems in-between the skin and meat, two on top and two on bottom either side. Place the rest of the rosemary in the cavity. Sprinkle salt inside the cavity and over the top of the bird and then place the bird on the drip tray.

Roast the bird at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes and then turn the heat down to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 1 hour until done. The chicken is done when the thermometer in the thigh reads 165 degrees. If you don’t have a meat thermometer, the juices should run clear from a cut between the thigh and the body of the bird.

A nice side dish for Roasted Rosemary Chicken, are roasted potatoes. You can serve this dish in place of french fries. Since the potatoes are roasted, you get a healthier version. Instead of russet potatoes, you can vary the potatoe type and you can varry the herbs according to your taste and the dish you are pairing the potatoes with.

We have a coffee bean grinder that we use to blend herbs for rubs and recipes like this one. You can put all the dried herbs in the grinder and then pulse if a few times to blend.

Ingredients:
3 lbs russet potatoes
¼ cup olive oil
½ T salt
½ T pepper
2 cloves garlic chopped
2 T Paprika
1 T chopped rosemary
1 T chopped parsley
1 T chopped basil

Instructions:
Wash and slice the potatoes length-wise. Place the oil, herbs and potatoes in a gallon zip lock bag and toss until potatoes are coated with oil and herbs. Spread on a shallow baking pan lined with foil. Roast in the oven at 350 for 1 hour or until done.

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