Dutch Oven Chicken Pot Roast with Fingerling Potatoes, Shallots, and Olives
While I know you’ve seen (many) recipes for roast chicken before, this version adds two noteworthy updates into the mix, which make it a robustly flavored one-pot meal.
Ingredients
- 1 (5- to 6-pound/2.2 to 2.7 kg) whole chicken
- 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 2 lemons
- 1-1/2 pounds (675g) fingerling potatoes
- 6 shallots, halved lengthwise
- 2 heads garlic, halved widthwise
- 1/2 cup (120ml) dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
- 1/4 cup (60ml) olive brine (from jarred olives)
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1-1/2 cups (270g) jarred pitted olives, such as Kalamata and/or Castelvetrano
- Chopped fresh oregano or parsley, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
- Remove and discard any giblets from the chicken; check to be sure that the cavity is empty. Set the chicken aside.
- In a small bowl, stir together the salt, pepper, oregano, and red pepper. Zest the lemons and add the zest to the salt mixture. Rub the mixture with your fingers to combine.
- Halve the lemons and set aside. In a large Dutch oven, combine 2 of the lemon halves with the potatoes, shallots, and 1 head of the garlic. Pour in the wine and olive brine.
- Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of the salt mixture into the chicken cavity. Add the remaining 2 lemon halves and head of garlic to the cavity as well. Drizzle the chicken with the olive oil and sprinkle the outside with the remaining salt mixture. Truss the chicken with butcher’s twine (see Tips & Tricks in headnote).
- Place the chicken on top of the potatoes in the pot and arrange the shallots around the chicken. Cover the pot and roast for 1 hour. Uncover, scatter the olives around the chicken, and roast uncovered until the chicken is browned and crispy and the internal temperature has reached 165ºF, 30 to 40 minutes more.
- Remove the chicken from the pot and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Discard the lemons, transfer the potatoes, olives, and shallots to a bowl, leaving the drippings in the pot, and cover to keep warm. Squeeze the garlic cloves into the drippings, mash with a fork, and stir to combine. Place the pot over medium-low heat to keep the drippings warm.
- Carve the chicken (or pull it apart with your hands!) and serve with potatoes, shallots, and warm pan juices. Garnish with herbs, if desired.
Notes
Excerpted from Preppy Kitchen. Copyright © 2022, John Kanell. Photography Copyright © 2022 By David Malosh. Reproduced by permission of Simon Element, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.