Whole Roast Chicken with Brussels Sprouts and Cauliflower

• 1.8 kg whole chicken⇄
• 50 g softened butter⇄
• 4 whole garlic cloves⇄
• 1 whole lemon⇄
• 1 tsp smoked paprika⇄
• 1 tsp dried thyme⇄
• 2 tsp salt⇄
• 1 tsp black pepper⇄

1. 1.Heat the oven to 200°C.
2. 2.Pat the chicken completely dry inside and out with paper towels; dry skin is what crisps.
3. 3.Mash the butter with the paprika, thyme, half the salt and the pepper, and rub it all over the skin, pushing some gently under the breast skin.
4. 4.Halve the lemon and put it in the cavity with the crushed garlic cloves.
5. 5.Tie the legs together loosely with kitchen string.

💡 Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes early; a less-chilled bird roasts more evenly.

• 500 g Brussels sprouts⇄
• 500 g cauliflower florets⇄
• 3 tbsp olive oil⇄
• 1 tsp salt⇄

1. 1.Trim and halve the Brussels sprouts and break the cauliflower into large florets.
2. 2.Toss them in a large roasting tray with the olive oil and salt until evenly coated, then spread them out and make a space in the middle for the chicken.
3. 3.Large cauliflower florets hold up to the long roast; small pieces burn before the bird is done.
4. 4.The vegetables will baste themselves in the drippings.

💡 Cut surfaces down against the tray means more caramelized, nutty edges.

1. 1.Set the chicken breast-side up in the middle of the vegetables.
2. 2.Roast at 200°C for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring the vegetables once at the 40-minute mark.
3. 3.The chicken is done when the skin is deep golden, the juices run clear when you pierce the thigh joint, and a thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh reads 74°C.
4. 4.If the skin browns too fast, tent loosely with foil.

💡 No thermometer? Wiggle the leg; it should move freely in the joint when the bird is done.

1. 1.Lift the chicken onto a board and rest it loosely tented with foil for 15 minutes.
2. 2.Meanwhile, return the vegetable tray to the oven; those final minutes in the drippings make them deeply golden and glossy.
3. 3.Resting lets the juices redistribute through the meat so they stay in the slices instead of flooding the board.
4. 4.Carving early is how a juicy bird turns dry on the plate.

💡 Pour any resting juices over the carved meat, not down the sink; that is pure flavor.

1. 1.Remove the legs by cutting through the hip joints, then slice the breast meat off each side and cut it into thick slices.
2. 2.Serve everyone a mix of breast and leg with a big spoon of the roasted vegetables.
3. 3.Before you clean up, strip every bit of remaining meat from the carcass into a container; that is Wednesday's dinner already handled.
4. 4.Save the bones for soup stock if Saturday's pot is on the plan.

💡 Weigh nothing, just plan: leftovers are the point of this meal, not an accident.