Roast Chicken with Roasted Vegetables

I make this dish quite often as it is one of the few meals that we can eat as a family, Little Man included. I also roast vegetables in this herb mix without cooking a chicken, so this can also work for the vegan crowd. Just double the veggies (feel free to include other types of vegetables, preferably harder types) and omit the chicken.


Herb mix (mix all together in small bowl):

• 1 1/2 Tbsp parsley
• 1 1/2 Tbsp rosemary
• 1 Tbsp poultry seasoning
• 1 Tbsp thyme
• 1 tsp freshly ground pepper

Chicken and veggies:

• 1 whole roasting chicken
• 4 large Yukon gold potatoes (cubed into 1 1/2 inch pieces) or 10 small red or purple potatoes
• 2 large red onions, cut into thick wedges while leaving a bit of the root intact so the wedges don't fall apart
• 6 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 parsnips, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
• olive oil
  
• 1 bay leaf
• fresh rosemary sprigs
  
• sea salt to taste

1. Wash chicken and pat dry. Coat outside with olive oil. Salt inside, then stuff with rosemary sprigs and bay leaf. Tie leg ends together with twine.
2. Lightly salt outside of chicken, then sprinkle half of the herbs over the outside. Rub with your hands to cover the surface and get in the crevices. Place chicken, breast side up, in a roasting pan.
   
3. Put prepared vegetables in a large bowl and pour a little olive oil over. Stir to coat all the veggies in oil. Sprinkle the remaining herbs over the vegetables and stir to combine (I do this twice for better herb coverage: sprinkle, stir, sprinkle, stir again).
4. Place vegetables around chicken in roasting pan. I use a spatula to scrape the bowl to get the residual herbs and oil out and sprinkle it over the chicken.
5. Roast chicken and vegetables in a 400 degree convection oven for one hour. (For non-convection, set your oven to 425 degrees and bake for about an hour and fifteen minutes.)