Poulet rôti tout simplement

Or in simple English: roast chicken, pure and simple.

I didn't grow up on whole roasted chicken.  My mom would always buy chicken already in portions, and then cook it in many different ways and it tasted amazing.  I must have been about eight when I asked my mom to cook whole roasted chicken.  At the time and often still I thought, this is the most elegant dish.  My mom's whole roasted chicken looked just like the ones in old recipe books or TV commercials; golden in colour, crispy skin and moist.

There are countless variations when roasting chicken, but I like mine, simple.  The fresh tarragon, the garlic and the herb-y cheese here give such wonderful flavours.  The only change I made to the recipe below is, I use butter instead of olive oil.  Olive oil is great but nothing crisps up the skin like butter...

Next, to truss or not to truss, that is the question.  I think it depends on the size of the chicken, I don't bother most of the time to be honest. 

When the chicken is cooked, like any other meat, it's good to let it rest for a little bit to let all the juices come back to the centre.

Everybody has their own culinary disasters, and for me, one of them is carving.  I cannot carve to save my life and I normally just ended up tearing the chicken and my excuse is "it looks more rustic".  I still tried though and today it looked kinda alright.  Martha Stewart would have been proud.

I serve the chicken with some cooked green beans and peas, dressed with the juices from the chicken.  And no wine tonight.  I still need to finish my essay...

Poulet rôti tout simplement
by Stéphane Reynaud
Serves 4

1 Whole chicken, preferable organic
1 Boursin-style cheese with garlic and fines herbes
1 Bunch of fresh tarragon
3 Cloves garlic
Sea Salt
Olive oil

1. Remove the chicken's innards, and reserve the heart and liver.
2. Peel the garlic, fill the chicken with the cheese, garlic, tarragon and reserved giblets.
3. Oil the chicken and sprinkle with sea salt.
4. Cook uncovered in pre-heated 200C oven for an hour, basting the chicken regularly. Cut the chicken into portions and dress it with a mixture of melted cheese and cooking juices.