Hogwarts Feast Roast Chicken

This photo would be better if I had one of those great trays you see on the feast tables in the Great Hall at Hogwarts.  Hmmm, I might have to get one!  Those who have read the books realize there was quite a bit of focus on the fact that Harry really didn't eat very well at the Dursley's.  The books talked about how Dudley was getting so large from all the food and Harry, who was so thin and small, got Dudley's hand-me-down clothes that Harry thought looked like 'elephant skin' hanging off of him.  Harry's first night at Hogwarts after the sorting ceremony the students are all astonished by the elaborate assortment of foods that appear on the tables in front of them, one of them being roast chicken.  So - I made a classic roast chicken recipe.  It was so tender and delicious.  I saved the stock to make chicken noodle soup with the leftover meat.  I made two chickens because just 1 chicken isn't enough to feed my family of 5.

Hogwarts Feast Roast Chicken

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
3 celery ribs
half bag baby carrots (the smaller bag - I think it's 8 ounces, but not certain)
5 cloves garlic, peeled
1 3-pound roasting chicken
olive oil for brushing over the chicken
freshly ground sea salt and pepper
1 cup water

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375.  Lay onion slices in a roasting pan and scatter celery, carrots and garlic on top.  Pat the chicken dry and place in roasting pan on top of veggies breast side up with wings tucked under.  No need for trussing.  Pour a bit of olive oil over the chicken and rub with your hands around the chicken.  Grind your salt and pepper over top of chicken and pour water into the bottom of the roasting pan.
Put pan in oven and roast (I did this uncovered) for 50 minutes.  Raise temperature to 450 (I covered it at this time because I wasn't sure the skin wouldn't burn), rotate the pan and continue roasting for 30-40 minutes until thermometer inserted into the thigh reads 170F.  Remove chicken from oven and let rest 20 minutes (also covered) before carving. 

Enjoy with the very flavorful veggies and maybe some mashed or boiled potatoes.