Roast Chicken And Potatoes (Kotopoulo Sto Fourno)

Beginner Cook - Lengthy Cooking Time - Main Course - Gluten-Free

This was the first recipe of my mother-in-law's that I attempted. It yields a juicy and tender bird with crispy skin and heavenly potatoes. In fact, I sometimes make this dish just to enjoy the potatoes. So, what makes them so great? The olive oil, white wine, lemon juice, garlic, water, and drippings the potatoes are baked in. While I have come across other recipes that call for similar ingredients, the amount of water and olive oil used in this one is where it differs from others. The larger amount of liquid surrounding the chicken and potatoes during the baking process produces a flavorful and moist potato. The sauce is lip-smacking-good when spooned over the plated potatoes and chicken. The perfect weekend family meal!

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 1 whole chicken
• 6 yukon gold potatoes*
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• 1.5 cups of water
• 1/4 of white wine
• 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

*Make sure to use yukon gold potatoes. While other potatoes such as a russet will still be flavorful, their baked consistency will differ from that of the yukon gold

Time - 2 hours and 15 minutes

• Preparation - 15 minutes
• Cooking - 2 hours

Preparation

• Preheat the oven at 350 degrees
• Check the chicken to ensure any giblets are removed from the chest cavity (some chicken producers wrap the giblets and include them with the chicken)
• Rinse chicken and place it breast down in a large roasting pan
• Peel the garlic clove and place it in the chicken's chest cavity
• Rinse, peel, and cut the potatoes and place them around the chicken in the roasting pan. Depending on the size of the potatoes, you will want to quarter them or cut them into six slices
• Pour the olive oil over the chicken and potatoes
• Pour the water and wine and squeeze the juice from half a lemon over the potatoes
• Sprinkle the salt and oregano over the chicken and potatoes
• Once all of your ingredients have been placed in the roasting pan, the olive oil, water, wine, and lemon juice should cover a significant portion of the potatoes as shown below. Don't skimp on the liquid! There is a greater chance that you will have too little liquid versus too much

• Place the chicken and potatoes in the oven and bake uncovered for 1 hour
• After 1 hour, turn the chicken breast side up and bake uncovered for another 1 hour until the chicken is a golden brown as shown below

• When turning the chicken, you may choose to spoon some of the liquid in the pan over the potatoes to keep them from baking dry on one side. Also, if you notice that most of the water in the pan has evaporated, add 1/2 cup of water
• Once the chicken and potatoes are fully baked, you should be left with some liquid in the bottom of the roasting pan, which is spooned over the chicken and potatoes when plated