It has been an unusually cold spring and I have still been cooking a lot of cold-weather food. Like roasted chicken. I planned to post this recipe today, so Murphy’s Law took over. The temperatures soared and we are at the start of a heat wave! On to the chicken…

In an effort to change things up, I added a Greek flair to this chicken. I added capers, Kalamata olives and artichoke hearts to the vegetables and seasoned the chicken and vegetables with oregano, lemon juice and olive oil.

I’m not going to be exact with measurements. This is a pretty easy dish to throw together and you can season your version as you like.

Ingredients

• Roaster chicken
  I usually pick one up at Whole Foods, but I got this one at Trader Joe’s.
• 3 or 4 large carrots carrots, cut into sticks
  I used multicolored carrots that I had on hand, again from Trader Joe’s.
• 2 stocks of celery, cut into sticks
• 2 bell peppers, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1 large Vidalia onion, cut into wedges
• 1 can artichoke hearts, quartered
• 2 lemons, 1 cut into wedges
• 3 TBSP capers
• 1/3 c Kalamata olives
• 1 tsp Oregano and a little extra
• 1 TBSP olive oil and a little extra
• Kosher salt
• Fresh ground black pepper

If you are looking for a place to buy your spices, I recommend trying Penzeys. Their spices are often fresher than the dried spices available in many stores and on the internet. I’m lucky to live near a Penzeys store, so I go there often.

Cooking instructions

In a bowl, mix together the carrots, celery and onion. Add artichoke hearts, olives, capers and the lemon wedges. Toss with olive oil, the juice of 1/2 a lemon, about 1 tsp of oregano, 1/2 tsp salt, and a little black pepper.

Stuff some of the vegetables into the cavity of the chicken.

I decided to truss the chicken. I’m not adept at chicken trussing, but I aspire to becoming great at it some day. 

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Rub a little olive oil on the chicken. Squeeze the juice of the remaining half lemon over it. Sprinkle the chicken with oregano, black pepper and a little salt. Add the vegetables to the pan.

Note about the vegetables: My vegetables were tightly packed into the pan. They stewed in the chicken juices, as well as roasted on the top (I turned them over periodically). They were full of flavor, but not crisply roasted. If you want crispier roasted vegetables, spread them out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and roast them on high heat.

Roast the chicken in the oven at 450 for 15 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350 and roast the chicken for 20 minutes per pound. If the chicken skin is getting too brown, cover it with foil.

I was craving oregano that night. I also sautéed zucchini, summer squash and chopped tomatoes with a little olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper.

I cubed leftover boiled potatoes, tossed them with olive oil, oregano, salt, pepper and lemon zest. I warmed them in the oven while the chicken cooked.

This was a substantial meal and we ate it for two dinners during the week. Then I removed the remaining chicken meat from the bones and made stock from the chicken bones and remaining vegetables. This was the base for a chicken soup on another cold spring night.