Tasty Tuesday: Oprah’s Roast Chicken with Smashed Potatoes

I found this recipe in a recent issue of O magazine – it was adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe and I added a few of my own touches to it.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (around 4-5 lbs)

Salt and pepper to taste

2 T. butter

1 1/2 lb. (about 15-20) of the small baby potatoes or fingerlings

2 c. milk

Zest of 2 lemons

10 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed

1 cinnamon stick, broken into a couple pieces

pinch of nutmeg

2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary

Instructions:  Place potatoes in a large pan of water and bring to a boil.  Once at a boil, I let them simmer while working on the chicken.  This gets the potatoes started prior to going into the oven where they will finish cooking.  Meanwhile, season the chicken with salt and pepper as desired, inside and out.  Use a large oven safe pot on the stove over high heat – melt the butter in it and use this for browning the chicken on all sides, about 10-15 minutes.  Once brown, place breast side down and add the milk to the pot.  Add in the potatoes as well (reserve the cooking water). Bring to a simmer and turn off the heat.  Add in the remaining ingredients.  Cover the pot with a lid or foil and roast in a 375 degree F oven for 45 minutes.  Remove the lid and continue roasting for another 30-45 minutes until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reads 165 degrees F.  The meat should pretty much fall right off the bone!  Remove the potatoes from the pan and gently smash them – if need be, use a bit (perhaps 1/4 cup to start with) of the reserved cooking water if potatoes seem dry.  Serve the sauce from the pan over the meat and potatoes.