Perfect Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

Ingredients

For the Sofrito

4 cloves of garlic
½ red pepper, sliced into large pieces
½ green pepper, sliced into large pieces
1 small bunch cilantro
1 small bunch culantro/recao, optional (only skip if you can’t find it)
½ red onion, chopped
¼ cup water

For the Chicken + Vegetables

1 5 lb. whole chicken
1 lemon, cut in half
1 head of garlic, cut in half crosswise
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 large yellow onion, cut into large pieces
4 medium carrots, chopped into about 3-inch chunks
1 lb. baby potatoes, quartered
Garlic powder, to taste
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Method

Begin by preheating the oven to 425 degrees.

To make the sofrito, add the garlic cloves, red pepper, green pepper, cilantro, culantro, red onion, and water to a food processor. Blend until a paste forms.

Remove the chicken giblets, then rinse the chicken inside and out. Pat the chicken completely dry.

Gently loosen the skin over the breast with your fingers, being careful not to tear it. Rub the softened butter and some of the sofrito underneath the skin, spreading both evenly over the breast meat.

Add a little more sofrito into the cavity of the chicken, then stuff the cavity with both halves of the lemon and both halves of the head of garlic.

Place the chicken into a roasting pan or cast-iron pan. Tuck the wings under the bird and tie the legs together with kitchen string.

Add the carrots, potatoes, and yellow onion around the chicken. Season the vegetables and the outside of the chicken generously with kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Drizzle everything with olive oil, making sure the chicken is fully coated so it roasts beautifully and develops a caramelized skin.

Roast for about 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken registers 165°F.

Remove from the oven and allow the chicken to rest for about 20 minutes before slicing. Serve with the roasted vegetables.

Integrate this dish and make it part of Your Story of Home.

Photography by Alcides Aguasvivas {Instgram @alcides.eats}