Poulet Roti: Top Chef Tuesday

It's Top Chef Tuesday! While I realize the show doesn't actually air until Thursday night, I am hoping to present a Top Chef worthy recipe to you every Tuesday. Along with my recipe, I will discuss the inspiration for my dish, and the episode it is inspired from.

Let's start at the beginning, with Top Chef: San Francisco. I have started re-watching the entire series on Hulu, so bear with me. In the first episode, titled "Who deserves to Be Here?", we meet the original 12 contestants. I like that in this season, not everyone is a professional chef. I thought the group was very interesting and diverse.

One of the most "interesting" contestants was Ken. He had one of the most memorable moments of the season during the quick fire challenge at Fleur de Lis. He lasted virtually no time in chef Keller's kitchen, because he put his finger in the sauce to taste it. I wish that they had said what type of sauce was worth risking everything to taste on a finger.

Fleur de Lis in San Francisco closed in 2014, but Chef Keller is still running his restaurant Fleur in Las Vegas. I looked over the menu when prepping for this post and decided to try my hand at making Poulet Roti. This is basically the French version of roast chicken. When you are finished, you will have flavorful chicken with a crispy skin along with yummy roasted potatoes and carrots to go with it.

Before we get started, let me tell you a little bit about cooking in my kitchen. I always have sous chefs, namely 2 teenage girls and a monster toddler. This makes my prep time take a little longer, but I feel like I build better memories and teach my children better skills by working with them. You should also know that in my kitchen, messes get made, and I do not have time to hide them from all my pictures. On this blog, I will be sharing real life, not a fantasy for you to try and live up to. 

Now onto the recipe. First you need to baste the entire chicken with butter. I use a total of 1/2 a stick through the whole recipe, because you will continue to add butter every 15 minutes throughout the roasting process. As the chicken cooks, the butter mixes with the juice and the lemon and creates your sauce, plus it is the secret to the crispy chicken skin.

Next, place 2 lemon quarters in the cavity of your chicken, along with chopped garlic, sage, thyme and rosemary. The other two lemon quarters get wedged under the legs. Then gently dust your chicken with salt and pepper before moving it into the oven. 

Sometime during the first hour that the chicken is roasting, cut up your veggies. I used organic rainbow potatoes and carrots. Cut the potatoes in half, leaving the skins on. Peel the carrots. Remove the tops and tips. Then cut each carrot into 2 inch long pieces. Season the veggies with salt, pepper and garlic powder and set aside. 

At the 1 hour mark, spread your veggies around the chicken. You can rub them with putter as you baste the chicken if you would like. I did and even my pickiest eater who claims to hate potatoes ate a second helping. 

Viola! Beautiful roasted chicken worthy of a top chef. Bonus points for easy clean up since you cooked the entire meal in one cast iron skillet. 

Poulet Roti

Ingredients

• 4.5 lb whole farm fresh chicken, skin on
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 3 sprigs rosemary
• 3 sprigs sage
• 1 TBSP chopped garlic
• 1 lemon, cut into quarters
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups organic rainbow potatoes, cut in half
• 2 cup organic rainbow carrots, peeled and cut into 2 inch long pieces

Directions

1. Rinse your chicken and the neck and giblets from inside the chicken. Pat dry with paper towels. Place breast side up in a cast iron skillet. 
2. Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. 
3. Brush the entire chicken with a light layer of butter, including inside the cavity. 
4. Fill the cavity with 2 lemon quarters, the garlic, thyme, rosemary and sage. Dust the entire chicken with salt and pepper. The wedge the other 2 lemon quarters under the legs. 
5. Bake the chicken for 1 hour at 350-degrees, brushing more butter over the top every 15 minutes. 
6. At the 1 hour mark, spread the rainbow veggies along the outside of your skillet, surrounding your chicken. Bake another 45 minutes, brushing the chicken and veggies with butter every 15 minutes. 
7. Using a meat thermometer, verify the internal temperature of your chicken reads 165-degrees. Remove from the oven and allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes before carving. 
8. Serve with juices poured over the meat and veggies as your sides. 

Makes 5 servings

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 5
Amount per serving
Calories	676
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 30.6g	39%
Saturated Fat 11.7g	59%
Cholesterol 262mg	87%
Sodium 434mg	19%
Total Carbohydrate 15.2g	6%
Dietary Fiber 3.4g	12%
Total Sugars 3.2g
Protein 81.2g
Vitamin D 6mcg	32%
Calcium 108mg	8%
Iron 6mg	32%
Potassium 1138mg	24%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet.2,000 calorie a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Recipe analyzed by

Thank you for sharing this meal with us. I hope you and your family enjoy it as much as we did. Let me know your favorite Top Chef inspired recipes, or just your favorite French recipes. 

Until tomorrow, 

Kristie