The Helpful Plate

 Herbed Whole Chicken

I made this chicken recipe last weekend after working in the yard. It was a warm Saturday and we worked several hours preparing the soil for a garden. I have to be honest with you, this gardening business is new to me and it was dang hard! But I loved every minute of it. It challenged my body in a way that normal workouts do not. And it was so gratifying to be in touch with the earth.

This is my version of an Instagram story I saw from the resident chef at Spicewalla. If you’re not familiar with Spicewalla, check them out. It’s a spice company in Asheville, NC that became famous after Oprah put their spice mixes on her Christmas list. This chicken was amazing and so easy! Plus, it fed the 2 us for 4 meals, so 8 meals in total.

As always with The Helpful Plate’s recipes, please experiment with the spice mix. I used spices that I thought would be yummy and refreshing on a warm spring day.

Ingredients:

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried marjoram

1/2 tsp sumac

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp powdered garlic

1 tsp sesame seeds

1 tsp dried dill

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

8 fresh sage leaves

1 whole lemon, washed

2 Tbs butter

2 shallots, peeled and cut into 8 wedges

2 small yellow squash, washed and cut lengthwise into 1/16 wedges

2 ribs celery, cut into 1.5” slices

12 fingerling potatoes cut in half, lengthwise

1 c. mushroom slices

9 fresh sage leaves, sliced

1/2 tsp salt

12 grinds black pepper or pepper blend

1 whole, organic chicken, rinsed and pat dry

1 generous drizzle olive oil - about 1 Tbs

Combine spices in the ingredient list from the thyme through the cumin seeds. Partially melt the butter and combine with the spices to form a paste. Rub thoroughly over rinsed and dried chicken.

Put whole lemon and the 8 whole sage leaves in the body cavity of the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours to overnight.

The chicken will take 45 min to hour to cook in the oven, so backtrack from your desired serving time to know when to start your veggies. Preheat oven to 425.

In a large oven-proof skillet, preferably cast iron, heat the olive oil. Add the shallots and cook until translucent. Add the celery and the potatoes. Stir to coat and cook 5-7 minutes. Add the mushrooms, salt, pepper and sage leaves. Stir to coat and heat through.

Place the chicken on top of the prepared veggies. Bake in preheated oven 45 min to an hour, until juices run clear.

Notes: You can easily substitute cubed regular or sweet potatoes for the fingerling potatoes. If you don’t love mushrooms or celery, omit them. Also, for the squash, honestly, any squash - acorn, butternut or zucchini will do. You can practically add any veggies you want, but I’d caution you against using delicate leaves such as spinach, as they're likely to turn to mush, but you could probably get away with using curly kale.

I used sage leaves because I have sage growing in my kitchen herb garden. If you don’t have any, use whatever fresh herb you like; you can use rosemary, basil or fresh thyme. Just let your imagination run wild!