1) The success of this dish depends on the quality of the ingredients (as is the case of many other dishes …). Buy an organic farm chicken (or red label) and good quality vegetables (garden, farm, permaculture, organic, AMAPs, etc.). If the vegetables are local or seasonal, it’s even better 😉
2) Buy a gold watch to measure cooking times. Oh no, not worth it, everything must be done by eyesight! Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 °C) instead.
3) Take the baking tray from your oven. Wash and cut into pieces the vegetables you have chosen (onions, carrots, peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes, lemons, olives, etc.). Spread them on the baking tray.
4) Pour a glass of water over the vegetables and a generous drizzle of olive oil over the chicken.
5) Season according to your tastes directly on the chicken: salt, pepper, garlic, herbs of Provence, ginger, curry or others; then put pieces of butter (salted or sweet according to the tastes) on the chicken between the thighs and on the back, wherever it does hold, (see photo at the top right).
6) Bake.
7) Every half hour, turn the chicken upside down and all the vegetables and check that there is enough liquid (to prevent it from burning). The cooking time depends on the size of the chicken and the amount of vegetables. The chickens in the photo have cooked about 2 hours.
8) The chicken is cooked when it says cui-cui; Oh no, when it’s when it’s golden!
To quote a Thai friend: “How do you manage to have a chicken that does not taste … We use chicken to give flavor to our dishes”.
So, do not hesitate to use the carcass and put it in water to cook pasta, for example or to make broth.
