Roast chicken baked in the oven is a classic staple of family meals! Easy to prepare, it delights young and old with its crispy skin and tender, juicy meat. The vegetables cook slowly and soak up the chicken’s juices. An ideal recipe for a Sunday lunch and perfect for batch cooking! It is a cornerstone of French cuisine—something to master without overthinking it.
The Sunday and family recipe to vary with the seasons using produce from the greengrocer
Sunday noon, it’s roast chicken! This great classic of French cuisine is a must for a weekend family lunch. If you usually buy it directly at the market, we recommend doing it at home—it’s super easy! To accompany it, opt for a simple and economical base: potatoes and carrots. But depending on the seasons, you can vary the toppings! Zucchini and peppers for a summer touch, cabbages and squashes in winter, mushrooms for autumn flavors, fennel and carrots in spring. Treat yourself at your greengrocer!
All you’ll have to do is add them to your dish with the chicken and baste them with the juices so they soak up all these generous flavors. Otherwise, you can stay with the ultra-classic but comforting combo: roast chicken and fries!
The basic ingredients for a roast chicken in the oven for 4 to 6 people
– 1 whole free-range chicken
– 4 large potatoes
– 3 carrots
– 1 onion
– Herbes de Provence
– Olive oil
– Butter
– Salt, pepper
How to achieve the perfect roasting for a roast chicken in the oven with vegetables?
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the chicken in a large baking dish and season with salt and pepper.
2. Add peeled vegetables cut into chunks all around and generously drizzle with olive oil. Add a few pieces of butter and some Herbes de Provence.
3. Bake for about 1 hour, regularly basting the vegetables and the meat with the cooking juices.
4. Check the doneness and serve hot!
Why is Sunday roast chicken a French tradition?
It’s a true institution! Sunday roast chicken is a tradition for many French people who gather with family to enjoy this poultry during a convivial and indulgent lunch. But why? This gastronomic heritage would date back to the time of King Henry IV who, in the 16th century, would have popularized this habit. He would have declared: “There shall be no peasant in my realm who does not have the means to have a chicken in his pot“. Considering that Sunday is a day of rest and celebration after a week of work, people would sit down around a poule au pot that gradually evolved into roast chicken, a dish easy and quick to prepare to delight the whole family.
And you, is Sunday roast chicken a tradition in your household as well? 🍗
