Herby Roast Chicken with Onion-Garlic Mashed Potatoes

A little while ago we had a Harry Potter movie night at our house. Tyler has read the first four books multiple times but had never seen any of the movies. His mom, Tanya, came over to watch the first movie with us and we decided to cook an entire meal from my Harry Potter cookbook to go with the movie. We tackled this recipe along with some yummy toffee for dessert. I'll have to post that recipe later because it was really good.

Learning experience: this was my first time buying an entire chicken. I didn't even know where to look for one at the grocery store. Things I have learned about cooking: never be afraid to look stupid or to ask for help, things go a lot faster that way. I marched myself right up to the meat counter and asked the very nice lady where I could find a whole chicken and she kindly pointed me in the right direction (they were in those deep freezer tub things in the center of the aisle).

I have to say, I was a little grossed out when I finally started preparing the chicken. The recipe asks you to put the seasoning under the skin and you have to loosen up the skin of the chicken beforehand. It was a bit more than I could handle so I had Doug finish it. Maybe next time it won't weird me out so much that it is so chicken-y looking (no judging; I'm used to the frozen fryer parts that come in a bag that look nothing like a chicken).

In all I will say this was a pretty good meal. Loved the potatoes and the chicken was really good, though I wish the flavor had soaked in to the chicken a little more. It only seemed to have flavor on the top part of the meat. I'll have to work on that for next time.

Also be warned: this is a super time intensive meal. The chicken alone cooks for over an hour. This is definitely a weekend meal, when I'm not rushing home from work to feed some hungry boys!


Herby Chicken

• 1 medium onion
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 3-pound chicken
• 2 Tbsp softened butter or margarine
• 1/4 tsp ground thyme
• 1/4 tsp ground sage
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup water

Mashed Potatoes

• 2 1/2 lbs (about 6) Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup chicken broth
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and lay the onion slices and garlic cloves in a baking dish. Rinse the chicken and pat it dry. Mix the butter or margarine with the thyme, sage and parsley and spread it under the skin of the breasts and thighs; you will need to loosen the skin first by lifting up the flap of skin and sliding your fingers under it. Lay the chicken in the pan, breast-side up, on top of the onions and garlic and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour the water into the pan.

Bake for 50 minutes. Rotate the pan, raise the temperature to 450 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes or until an instant read thermometer inserted into the thigh reads 170 degrees.

While the chicken is roasting, prepare the mashed potatoes. Cover the potatoes with water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer until tender, about 25 minutes. Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a skillet and add the onions. Cook the onions over medium heat, stirring frequently, until nicely browned, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Remove from the heat.

Drain the potatoes. Add the onion-garlic mixture, 1/2 cup oil, chicken brother, and salt and pepper. Mash with a potato masher.

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 45 min
Total Time: 1 hr, 10 min

Recipe from Unoffical Harry Potter Cookbook