Sauvignon Blanc Roast Chicken with "end of the season" vegetables

My inspiration to make this dish came from my favorite grocery store SPROUTS Farmer's Market.  It's a local market that started back in 2002 and has now expanded to CA, CO and TX.  They have a great meat department with friendly butchers.  Sprouts is the only place I trust their ground meat since they grind it in house and if you're nice to them they'll grind to order--which I do.  Also, the other stores I go to (warehouse stores and "name-brand" super markets) get their ground meat in already ground--they just run it through the grinder to make it look fresher--trust me, I asked the butcher at those stores and they told me). Another great thing is that their chicken is all natural with no chemical enhancer, sodium based solutions, or growth hormones and stimulants.  I take my meat seriously when I'm feeding my friends and family!

I am also tempted to buy fruits and vegetables by the pounds there because they're not only inviting with their sweet fragrance, but it is the only store in my valley with affordable prices.  I usually stop my temptations of over hoarding by reminding my self  it's only the 3 of us and I have no plans of having an army over for lunch or dinner. 

Ok, so maybe my inspiration to make this particular lunch is as a result of my over hoarding of affordable, market fresh vegetables.  Earlier in the week I had bought a few pounds of tomatoes for .67 cents/pound, 3 RED bell peppers for $1(can't beat that!), couple pounds of perfect summer zucchini for .88 cents/pound, celery stalk for.88 cents, eggplant for $1, a pound of organic carrots for $1 (don't get me started on fruit...) get my drift? 

Because of my addiction for over buying affordable vegetables, today I had to try to come up with recipes to use them before they went bad and this is what was for lunch thanks to Sprouts:

Sauvignon Blanc Roast Chicken with "end of the season" vegetables:

For the chicken:

(1) whole chicken about 6 pounds, washed and pat dry

2 ribs of celery, cut in thirds-then halved

2 carrots, cut in thirds-then halved

1/4 red onion chopped 

Seasoning:

Salt/Pepper

teaspoon of paprika, chili flakes, angelica powder, dried ginger

Fresh seasoning:

tablespoon chopped fresh parsely, mint, and 3 cloves garlic

Pre-heat oven to 420 degrees:

In a heavy-duty skillet (cast iron or roasting pan) pour a tablespoon of oil (I use grape seed oil), then place the vegetables on the bottom of the pan.  Sprinkle with S/P.

The vegetables have 2 functions: they'll keep your chicken from sticking to the pan, and they'll add flavor to the broth produced while roasting as you baste.

Rub the chicken with dry/fresh seasoning inside the cavity, under the skin (gently pull back the skin as you do this), and over the skin.  Truss your chicken with kitchen twine, place it in the pan on top of the vegetables and rub it with a teaspoon of oil.

Cover the chicken in 2 layers of cheese cloth that has been dipped in about 1/4 cup of white wine--I used sauvignon blanc for its crisp, stone fruit taste.  Using cheese cloth (as I learned from Martha Stewart's Thanksgiving edition back in the day) will keep your chicken from drying out while it's roasting. 

 On the stove top, prepare a bath of equal parts wine and chicken stock (1 cup each) with half a stick of butter, and fresh parsley and celery.  Keep it on medium-low heat, and use this liquid to baste the chicken every 15 minutes or so.

Roast the chicken for about 20 minutes at 420 (convection) and then bring it down to 350-375 for the remainder of the time while you continuously baste the chicken

For the roasted vegetables you will need:

3 Roma tomatoes, cut in half

1 Red onion chopped

2 zucchini's cut in half, then chopped

2 red peppers, membrane and seeds removed, chopped

1/2 medium eggplant, chopped 1/4" thick

1 garlic bulb cut in half

Place in big bowl, drizzle with olive oil and toss with salt and pepper.  Place it in a sheet pan and roast for 30-40 minutes or until roasted.

The chicken is roasting, continuously basted, and protected from drying out by the cheese cloth.

Once the chicken is cooked, juices run clear and thermometer reads 180 degrees in the thigh, remove it from the oven.  Take the cheese cloth off and let it rest.  When I did this, the breasts were not as brown as I like it to be, so I placed it under the broiler at 550 for 5 minutes and it came out crispier than you see in the above photo.

Serve the finished result on a platter, with the chicken cut in quarters.

This lunch for 2.5 cost me $8 with left overs for dinner!

Thanks Sprouts!

Did I mention this lunch was also gluten-free?...