Sunday Night Roast Chicken with Root Vegetables

Yesterday was a rainy Sunday and I was just really in the mood for a nice roast chicken. Roasting a chicken on top of root vegetables is always an easy 1-pot dinner, and I had some extra time, so I brined the chicken, too. (You don't need to brine a chicken if you buy a kosher chicken.) I think it added some flavor and made it juicier. This is a really nice Sunday dinner, hearty and with good flavors. Feel free to change the root veggies and do carrots or potatoes or butternut squash - whatever you like.

Ingredients:
1 4 lb chicken

Brine:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup salt
4 garlic cloves, crushed
tbsp black pepper corns
water

Chicken:
2 tbsp butter, softened
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
1 turnip, cut in 3/4" wedges
1 acorn squash, sliced with seeds removed
1 inch of ginger, peeled and sliced in 1/4" slices
1 1/2 lemons, 1 quartered, one halved and sliced
4 cloves garlic, skin on
2 arbol chiles
1 leek, halved and rinsed
1 onion, peeled and quartered
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 cup chicken broth (only if you need it)

Directions:

To make the brine, fill a large pot up with enough water to cover your chicken and stir in all ingredients until salt and sugar have dissolved. Brine the chicken for 1-2 hours. Remove from the bring and pat dry with paper towels. Preheat the oven to 400.

Rub the softened butter under the skin of the breast and try to distribute evenly (it doesn't have to be perfect). Into the cavity of the chicken, put two quarters of the onion, half of the ginger, and the quartered lemon and close it up with a toothpick.

In a large bowl, toss all of the remaining ingredients with plenty of salt, pepper, and olive oil.

Arrange them in a roasting pan or casserole and put the chicken on top. Rub the outside of the chicken with olive oil and season liberally with salt and pepper. Put the chicken in the oven, legs facing the back, and cook for about 1 hours, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the breast reads 160.

Take the chicken off of the veggies and let it rest on a cutting board.

Throw the vegetables under the broiler for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Slice up the chicken and serve with the vegetables.