ROAST CHICKEN WITH PASTIS, FENNEL AND POTATOES
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Put this in the oven and then close your eyes; you could fool yourself thinking you've fallen into the Provencal vacation of your dreams.
Author:
Recipe type: entree
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 whole chicken, about 4-5 lbs.
  • 4 garlic cloves, cut into slivers
  • 1 regular or Meyer lemon
  • 2 Tbs. ground fennel or anise
  • salt and pepper
  • 3 oz. Pastis (or other anise liqueur)
  • 2 oz. olive oil + more for drizzling
  • 1 cup white wine
  • 1 14 oz. can of chicken stock (or roughly 1½ C. homemade)
  • 2 heads fennel, trimmed and cut into large pieces
  • 2 pounds potatoes, cut in large pieces, or if using smaller, halved
  • 1 bunch green onion, cut into rings
  • chopped fresh tarragon (optional)
Instructions
  1. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Place in Pyrex dish or small roasting pan.
  2. Put garlic under the skin (I focus on both breast and thigh region).
  3. Zest and juice lemon. Sprinkle zest and anise seed over bird, then salt and pepper generously.
  4. Pour over the chicken the lemon juice, Pastis, 2 oz. olive oil and ½ C. white wine.
  5. Let marinate for 30 minutes - up to 2 days in fridge. Half way through marinating, flip bird so it sits breast-side down in liquid.
  6. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 450. Pull chicken from fridge and let it sit on counter for 30 minutes. Add a can of chicken stock to pan (this will help add to the sauce) and put in oven.
  7. On separate pan/roasting sheet, toss together chopped fennel, potatoes, green onion and last ½ C. white wine. Drizzle entire lot with olive oil and salt and pepper generously.
  8. Baste chicken occasionally with pan juices, adding a bit more stock, wine or even water to the pan if it starts to look too dry.
  9. Chicken will take roughly 1 - 1¼ minutes to cook, potatoes about 30-40 minutes (depending on big they've been cut) so plan accordingly. Allow at least fifteen minutes of rest time for chicken outside the oven to allow juices to redistribute.
  10. Place cooked fennel and potatoes alongside roast chicken and serve with any remaining pan juices
  11. If desired, garnish with fresh tarragon.
  12. Greedily hoard leftovers for heavenly soup or baguette sandwiches.
Recipe by Portland Sampler at https://portlandsampler.com/a-chicken-in-every-pot-pastis-fennel-and-potatoes/