Honey Roast Chicken with Leeks

En français ici.
Winter's coming! How can I tell? Well, aside from the severe gray descending on the city, the proliferation of root vegetables in my CSA is a good sign: potatoes, carrots, and, for the first time this week, leeks! I couldn't be happier because I love leeks. So far on my blog you can find:

Salmon with Winter Leeks (where I espouse the many virtues of leeks)
and
Simple Potato Leek Soup (one of the easiest, cheapest and yummiest winter soups I know)


Being a big fan of roast chicken, but a little bored with the classic version, I decided to make a leek-y, winter version. I especially love leeks when they get a little burnt and caramelized and I thought cooking them with honey would bring out the flavor nicely, which it did!

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, ready to roast
3 leeks
4 shallots
1/4 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp honey
Sea salt
Pepper

Preheat the oven to 400F/210C.

In a small bowl combine the olive oil, honey, salt and pepper and using a basting brush or your fingers coat the chicken with this mixture.


Roughly chop the leeks and shallots and spread them around the chicken in a roasting pan. Drizzle the rest of the honey/oil mixture over the vegetables and roast for a about 1 hour, until the thigh releases clear juices when cut with a knife. Baste the chicken once or twice during the cooking process.

In other news, Sam over at Antics of a Cycling Cook has tagged me. Thanks Sam! Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

I decided to make this more pertinent to my blog by sharing six random things about me and food! Here we go:

- I LOVE spicy food. All kinds of spicy. The spicier the better! (Guess I better not invite Sam over for curry!)

- When I was little, I was watching my mom cook and my sweater caught on fire. It was a sweater that my mom had knitted for me, which subsequently became a sweater-vest, but it did not tarnish my love of fire in the kitchen, I mean, gas stoves...

- In true foodie fashion I gave my cat (who unfortunately couldn't come with me to Paris and now lives with my parents) a food name: Ginger Marmalade. Plus if he ever decides to moonlight as a go-go dancer, I figure he has a stage name already ;-)

- I don't like mushrooms. It's the texture. I like the way they flavor dishes but the slimy texture of mushroom in my mouth...yuck.

- I don't like beets either. It the color. They can't possibly be natural and that florescent! My theory about beets: they're space vegetables, beamed down from another planet as some sort of research project.

- My best food experience so far: the tasting menu at l'Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Paris. Amazing. Even things I didn't think I liked were so divine I could hardly believe it.

I'm not going to tag anyone specifically, but if any of you are inspired and have time to do it (the foodie version or regular), go for it!

And remember to post your entries for the Energy Food Challenge before Nov. 22nd!