Recipe: Roast Chicken with Garlic Croutons (Poulet Roti aux Croutes d'Ail)

ROAST CHICKEN WITH GARLIC CROUTONS
(POULET ROTI AUX CROUTES D'AIL)

9 ounces day-old French bread, cut into 1 1/2-inch square chunks
3 large cloves garlic, peeled, cut in half
1 (3 1/2 to 4 pound) chicken, with giblets
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 lemon
1 large bunch fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried Fresh thyme sprigs), for garnish

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Rub the chunks of bread on all sides with the garlic. Set aside.

Pat the chicken dry all over with paper towels, if necessary. Remove the giblets from the cavity of the chicken, generously salt and pepper the cavity, and return the giblets. Squeeze the half lemon into the cavity, then add the lemon half, along with the bunch of thyme, pushing it in gently. (If using dried thyme, sprinkle inside cavity.) Truss the chicken and place it, breast side up, in a large baking dish.

Roast the chicken in the center of the oven until it is golden and nearly cooked through, about 50 minutes.

Add the chunks of bread, arranging them around the chicken. Continue roasting until the leg joint moves easily when you rotate it, another 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of the bird.

Remove the chicken from the dish, and salt and pepper it generously all over. Place the bird on a warmed platter, breast side down, and let it rest for 15 minutes so the juices retreat back into the meat.

Stir the croutons in the dish so they are coated with the cooking juices, and return them to the oven. Roast until they are deep gold and very crisp, about 15 minutes. Then remove them from the oven.

Carve the chicken and arrange it on the platter. Thinly slice the giblets and add them to the platter. Then scatter the croutons around and over the chicken. Pour any remaining cooking juices over the chicken and croutons, garnish with thyme sprigs if desired, and serve.

Makes 4-6 servings
Source: French Farmhouse Cookbook by Susan Herrmann Loomis