Poulet Grand-Mère (Grandmother's Chicken)

This is a tasty, simple recipe that makes a great weeknight dinner while being easy on the pocketbook.

Poulet Grand-Mère

One cut up free range organic chicken or a combination of your favorite parts with skin on

2 pounds small new potatoes quartered

2 large carrots roughly chopped in to 1/2" pieces

2 onions peeled and cut in to wedges about 1 inch at the thickest part

10 cloves of garlic

1 1/2 cup of white wine

a few spigs of fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or vegetable oil

sea salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400. Toss all of the prepared vegetables with two tablespoons of olive oil and season liberally with salt and pepper. Place them in a roasting pan and arrange sprigs of thyme over the vegetables. Pat the chicken dry and season the chicken liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat 1/4 cup of oil a large heavy skillet over medium high heat. Without overcrowding the pan, thoroughly brown the chicken parts starting with the skin side down and then flipping to the other side. (I'm talking deep, dark brown, not light gold!) This is a critical step as it par cooks the chicken, crisps the skin and creates an important layer of flavor, so do not skimp. When all the chicken pieces are well browned, arrange them skin side up over the vegetables which will serve as a roasting rack or base. Pour the white wine in the still hot skillet with the chicken drippings and deglaze scraping up any browned bits. Reduce for a minute or two and pour the whole thing over the chicken and vegetables. Place the roasting pan, uncovered in the preheated oven and cook for approximately 25-30 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the largest pieces of chicken register an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Serve the amazing pan juices over noodles, quinoa or rice and make sure you have plenty of crusty bread on hand to sop up the juices with. This is could also be a one dish meal. Serves 6.