Roast Chicken with Winter Vegetables

How we make it.

1 (3 pound) whole chicken
2 teaspoons whole fennel seeds
2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 head garlic, halved
5 carrots, peeled and chopped
5 parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 red onion, cut into 6 wedges
Black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large roasting pan toss onion, carrots, parsnips, a teaspoon of salt, a tablespoon of olive oil and black pepper, to taste. Nestle your pretty little chicken amidst the vegetables. In a mortar and pestle, grind together fennel seed and the other teaspoon of salt until pulverized. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to make a paste. Slather that all over the chicken. Tuck her little wings under her, place the head of garlic into the cavity and tie her little legs together. Roast for 1 hour and 10 minutes, drizzling some more olive oil on top around the 45 minute mark to help the skin brown. Once cooked, remove your chicken from the oven and let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before carving and serving.

**Note: I like a smaller chicken but often the ones in the store are 5 pounders. If that's all you can find, roast for 1 1/2 hours and chop vegetables larger so they can handle the longer cooking time. Just make sure your chicken is at 165 degrees internal temperature before you eat it. You want clear juices, not pink ones, when you cut into the meat.

Why we make it.

For me, the beloved-ness of a roast chicken lies in its wholeness. Its wholesomeness. Its plumpness. Skin, flesh and bones in a beautifully rounded package, begging for a bird bath of butter or oil. A dousing of herbs. A nestling into a bed of vegetables. Roast chickens comfort and ground because they're comforting and grounding. You can make them a million ways and they will never fail you. There's a formula for every season. In this case, a rainy day chicken with winter vegetables is the ticket. The chicken changer of this recipe is the fennel seed rub, infusing its savory anise perfume deep into all that skin. If you want to know what this chicken tastes like, don't sub that part out. Paired with a rustic blend of winter root vegetables, this roast chicken will bring you home, keep you home and make you glad to be home. That's why we make it.