GOOP Chicken from Gwyneth Paltrow

Before going in the oven wit a little fennel
thrown in for good measure

Unfortunately, loss is part of everyday life. Recently, a member of our community lost a family member rather suddenly. At this time of sadness, everyone came together, to do what really should come naturally, gather around and provide as much support and comfort as possible. A big part of that was helping out with meals, especially on Shabbat, which generally demands more attention in the kitchen and also asks us to suspend our mourning somewhat.

I wonder if this is univerally true, or only so in our house, but chicken seems to be the ultimate comfort food. It is warm and nourturing, without being heavy and weighing. It carries flavor, it seems, as well as it carries memories; of orange chicken and arroz con pollo, of chicken soup and Shabbat tbit.

This recipe originated from a post on Gwyneth Paltrow's website, GOOP.com. We loved it from the moment we watched the video. It's quick, easy, and amazingly tastey. We make it all the time, adjusting the herbs based on what's fresh in the garden or on hand in the pantry. It takes about an hour to prepare and depending on portion sizes feeds between 4 and 6 people.

Ingredients

• 1 3 to 4 pound chicken, washed and dried 
• 1 lemon, cut in half 
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled 
• a few sprigs each fresh rosemary, sage and thyme
• coarse salt freshly ground black pepper 
• about 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 
• 1 1/2 dozen fingerling potatoes (or any small potato), peeled

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 F (on convection if possible).
2. There are two options here. Either works here.
• This is the original: Using a pair of sharp kitchen shears, remove and discard the backbone of the chicken (or save it for making stock). With a sharp pairing knife, remove the thigh bones — simply follow the bone and let your knife do the work for you. You can also ask your butcher to do this.
• Sephardic Table version: Put the chicken on your cutting board, breast side down. Using a sharp knife of shears, start from the neck and cut down along one of the seams of the spine until you get to the thigh joint. Using a little muscle (or a knife if you prefer) separate the thight from the spine and then cut the rest of the way through to the end of the bird. You can cut the spine out of you like, or leave it. Either way roast it and use it in stock after it's been cooked for a richer flavor.
3. Lay the chicken, breast side up, in a roasting tray and press down with your hands so that it flattens. Squeeze over the lemon, getting the juice on and around the entire chicken, and throw the lemon halves into the tray. Toss in the garlic cloves, being sure to tuck a few underneath the bird along with the fresh herbs. Liberally salt and pepper the chicken and drizzle over enough olive oil to coat — about 3 tablespoons.
4. Meanwhile bring a saucepan of water to a boil and season with a few pinches of salt. Boil the potatoes for 8 minutes. Drain the potatoes, put them back in the pot with the lid on and shake vigorously to ‘fluff’ their exteriors. Put the potatoes in the tray with the chicken and drizzle with olive oil to coat (about another 3 tablespoons) and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
5. Cover the tray with tinfoil, roast for 20 minutes, remove the tinfoil and baste with the juices that have collected on the bottom. Roast for an additional 20 minutes (30 if you used the Sephardic Table version), uncovered, or until a thermometer inserted into the thigh registers at least 165 F and the skin is browned.