Roasting Pans and Rutabaga

Andrea and I have begun using the roasting pan quite frequently. We have discovered that using it can be genius in producing flavors and not soiling every dish in the kitchen to produce dinner. I saw a recipe on The Amateur Gourmet this last week for a Roast Chicken with Root Vegetables that looked quite intriguing. Number one, it calls for a roasting pan. Number two, roasted chicken is good for me. Number three, it had LEEKS! Number four, I can't say that I had ever eaten a Rutabaga. I saw them in the Kroger and wondered how to cook them. Viola! I have a chance to check them out in a pretty low risk format. I'm home tonight by myself and decide to get to work.

List of Vegetables In The Pan
Rutabaga
Small Red Potatoes
Smallish Yellow Onion
Medium Carrots
Leeks
Butternut Squash
Garlic

I cut the vegetables into similar size pieces. Carrots were halved. Leeks were split in half, almost. Be sure to clean them quite well! Onion was quartered. Squash and Rutabaga both had the outside peeled off and then cut down into pieces that were approximately the size of the red potatoes which were left whole.

I tossed them in a third of a cup of vegetable oil with kosher salt and black pepper. I also put some smashed and peeled garlic and thyme sprigs in the bottom of the roasting pan with them.

The chicken was whole, but I took the neck and all the other more interesting inside bits and discarded them. Not a big fan of the liver and such. I placed some smashed and peeled garlic along with thyme sprigs and salt/pepper in the core of the chicken. I then rubbed it down with a tiny bit of oil. Placed it in the pan on top of the vegetables. Once there, I put four or five pats of unsalted butter on top. I preheated the oven to 475 and slid the pan in the oven.



This also gave me a chance to use my super-sly remote thermometer that I received as a Christmas present from my brother-in-law. Side note. This little gem is greatness. The thermometer end sticks in the meat in the oven or grill and runs a wire out to a transmitter which sends the signal to my digital readout. Its got a flashlight, timer and target temps for all types of meat. Well done Jim!

I left the chicken at 475 for twenty-five minutes as directed by the recipe. I then backed the oven down to 400 for another forty-five minutes. I had the chicken registering 160 degrees per the recipe and the juices were running clear. I pulled this bad boy out of the oven to let it rest.



This turned out to be quite a tasty process. The chicken was absolutely delicious as well the vegetables. I need to eat more rutabaga. It was very good and blended well with the other root vegetables. The even better news is that I have leftovers!