Roast Chicken with Potatoes and Garlic

I can't believe I haven't blogged this recipe before, and maybe I have and just don't remember. It's one of my very favorites ever; a great winter meal. It's easy enough to make any day of the week, but fancy enough to make an impressive Sunday dinner. And it's so healthy! You roast skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts (more flavor and juicier than the boneless, skinless variety), with unpeeled cloves of garlic and new potatoes. Drizzle with a generous amount of olive oil, salt and pepper and put it in the oven. So fast, so yummy. Sometimes I'll add other vegetables like parsnips, sweet potatoes or beets. Just make sure they are all about the same size so they'll cook evenly. I've included the recipe with exact measurements, but once you get the technique you can vary how much chicken, garlic and potatoes you use. Just make sure you use a pan (or two) that is big enough to give everything a little space.

Roast Chicken with Potatoes and Garlic
serves 6

3 whole chicken breasts, bone in and skin on
2T. olive oil
3 lbs. mixed small potatoes, such as red new potatoes, Yukon golds, and fingerlings
1 head of garlic
1 1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400. Lightly brush two 14 x 12 roasting pans (or I use 9 x 13). If the potatoes are larger than 1 1/2 inches in diameter, cut them into 1 1/2 -2 inch chunks.
2. Separate the garlic head into cloves (don't peel). Divide the potatoes and garlic cloves between the roasting pans. Drizzle each pan with 1 T. olive oil. Lightly toss the potatoes and garlic until they are covered with the oil. Place 1 whole chicken breast, skin-side up, in one plan. Place the remaining 2 whole breasts in the other pan, skin-sides up. Sprinkle the ingredients in each pan with 3/4 t. salt and 1/4 t. pepper. Roast for 30 minutes. Rotate the pans in the oven, and turn potatoes for even browning (I usually just do one pan of things and don't rotate or turn the potatoes). Continue to cook until the chicken skin is crisp and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the breast meat read 180, 20-25 minutes.
3. To serve, divide the poatoes evenly among six plates with a few cloves of roasted garlic for each person. (The roasted garlic squeezes easily out of it's skin and it's yummy spread on bread or eaten with the potatoes and chicken.)