Cooking Lesson #1031: Ed & Joan’s Favorite Dinner... Roasted Chicken & Potatoes Dinner

…from the Perspectives’ Kitchen

How you doin’? During  deep dark days of the pandemic, I made this dinner for two at least once a week. I lit a candle, and it was a Covid date night. Now that the pandemic is history, I still love this dinner. And it’s the perfect dinner to make for Mom this Mother’s Day. She’ll be so impressed!
 
It’s not a particularly "trendy" dish, but it’s trendy enough for Joan, me and any lucky guest who gets invited to the Engoron Kitchen. Why is it so special? I have a trick that turns the spuds into the crispiest roasted potatoes, perfect to serve with my Sunday traditional roasted chicken roasted dinner. I love this chicken and potato combination so much I don’t know how I missed publishing before now.
 
My potatoes are everything good under the sun: crisp, crunchy, golden brown, well-seasoned, and light and fluffy on the inside—pretty much perfection—or as close as I can come.
 
It’s not a big secret… if you can toss some cubed potatoes on a sheet pan and simply roast them until tender, you’ll be getting close. But the real secret of this recipe is the technique.
 
First, parboil the cubed potatoes in salted water to ensure they are fluffy inside. To develop a super crisp exterior, after the potatoes are drained, add them back to the pot and give them a vigorous shake—shake it like you mean it! This roughens the outsides and encourages the starches to clump together, developing tasty, crispy bits once roasted.
 
After they been boiled and shaken, allow the potatoes to dry on a baking rack for at least 15 minutes (or up to four hours in the fridge). You will get the best crispy results if you start with a dry surface—allowing them to cool and release any residual moisture ensures they will roast up nice and crunchy.
 
Are you still following me? Once the boiled potatoes have cooled and dried, it’s off to the oven. But not until the oil is heated to the perfect temperature.
 
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Then add a generous amount (1/2 cup) of oil to a sturdy rimmed sheet pan and heat it in the oven for seven to ten minutes before adding the potatoes. By preheating the oil, the potatoes start to crisp up the moment they hit the pan. Be careful not to splash hot oil on yourself.  Once the potatoes are tucked into the oven, drop the temperature down to 350° F until the potatoes become golden brown.
 
Yukon gold has the best creamy interior, but if you want the crunchiest exterior, use russets.
 
Ingredients
3 tablespoons kosher salt for the boiling water
3 pounds large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and 1-1/2 to 2-inch diced
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I prefer peanut oil)
Coarse sea salt or fleur de sel
Minced parsley
 
Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 425° F.
2. Bring a large pot of water with the kosher salt to boil.
3. Add the potatoes, return to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 8 minutes.
4. Drain the potatoes, place them back in the pot with the lid on, and shake the pot roughly for five to ten seconds to rough up the edges. 
5. Carefully transfer the potatoes in one layer to a baking rack set over a sheet pan.  Set aside to dry for at least 15 minutes.  (They can sit at room temperature for several hours or in the fridge for up to 4 hours.)
6. Pour the oil onto another sheet pan, tilt the pan to distribute the oil, and place the pan in the oven for 7 to 10 minutes, until the oil is hot. 
7. Transfer the potatoes carefully into the oil (use a large metal spatula) and toss them lightly to coat each potato with the hot oil.
8. Lower the oven temperature to 350° F.
9. Roast for 45 minutes to one hour, turning the potatoes occasionally with tongs, until very browned and crisp on the outside and tender and creamy inside.
10. Transfer to a serving platter.
11. Sprinkle generously with the sea salt and parsley and serve hot.

 
Roasted Chicken
Prep time:  15
Roast time:  1 hour+
Yield:  4 servings
 
Ingredients
4-lb. chicken, room temperature
Kosher salt
Freshly-ground pepper
Peanut oil
 
The greatest thing about different cooking methods is that there are plenty of ways to accomplish the same task. Some cooks lean towards a “low and slow” method, but others, like me, prefer a higher temperature—425° F to be exact—to get the job done. The higher temperature is the perfect temperature for roasting chicken. I like it for its simplicity and delicious results, of flavorful meat and a beautifully crispy, golden skin.
 
I roast it at 425° F, covering the breast with foil during the last bit of cooking time if I notice it's going from golden to dark brown. Check the chicken temperature at one hour—if the temperature of the thigh is 165° F, it’s done; if it’s less than that, put it back in the oven for more roasting time. It’s a near-perfect method with a few caveats.
 
Roasting your chicken at a higher temperature will cook more quickly than if it was roasted at a lower temperature. This provides some time savings with a resulting benefit of golden, crispy skin.
 
Let a 4-pound chicken come to room temperature. Season with kosher salt, freshly-ground black pepper and brush with peanut oil. That’s it—place the chicken on the oiled sheet pan and roast until the internal temperature reaches 165° F. As the chicken sits on a carving board for 10 minutes the temperature will increase 5 to 10 degrees and the juices will be stabilized in the bird, ensuring tender, moist slices. If you start slicing right out of the oven, all the juices will run out of the bird, leaving you with slightly dry pieces, but very dry leftovers.
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ChefSecret:  Follow the directions for the potatoes but leave space in the middle of the hot oiled sheet pan to put the chicken on the same pan surrounded by the potatoes. The additional flavor of the chicken roasted with potatoes will have you coming back at least once a week.

Quip of the Day:  Q. Why are chickens always doing pushups at the gym? A. Because they like to work out their pecks! 
Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to [email protected]. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/perspectives-on-food
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to  Feeding America, Tunnel to Towers, Union Rescue Mission and/or American Red Cross.

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