Spanish Roasted Chicken with Chorizo and Potatoes

 {the finished product!}

{Finley was very interested in watching Daddy carve the chicken}

Oh my gosh, I absolutely loved this dinner!  I literally could not stop eating it!  I've roasted chicken before but none of them have turned out this delicious.  This recipe is company-worthy but with very little effort.  The presentation is beautiful and the herb gremolata really gives the dish a bright, vibrant fresh flavor.  Serve it with a simple green salad or throw some asparagus into the mix and you have yourself a fantastic dinner.  Yum!

I chose to truss the chicken to ensure even cooking and keep the breasts moist.  Here's an excellent YouTube video to teach you how to do it.

Spanish Roasted Chicken with Chorizo and Potatoes
adapted from The Meal Planner, recipe originally from Jamie Oliver

2 lbs multi-colored fingerling potatoes, cut in half if large
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks (about the same size as the fingerling potatoes)
4.5 lb whole chicken, rinsed with water, patted dry, and giblets removed
1/2 onion, cut into large chunks
kitchen twine
olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
paprika
11 oz chorizo, sliced on an angle

for the gremolata:
2 lemons, zested
1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely minced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Make the gremolata.  Finely chop the parsley, reserving the stems.  In a small bowl, mix together lemon zest, parsley and garlic.  Season with a little salt.  Reserve the lemons.

Stuff the chicken's cavity with the reserved parsley stems, lemons (cut in half), and the chopped onion.  Using kitchen twine, truss your chicken.

Grease your baking dish.  Arrange fingerling and sweet potatoes in an even layer in the bottom of your baking dish.  Drizzle potatoes with a little olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.  Place chicken atop the potatoes.  Drizzle olive oil over the bird and sprinkle liberally with salt, pepper and paprika.

Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Carefully remove dish and sprinkle sliced chorizo around the chicken.  Return dish to oven and continue to cook for 15 more minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 170 degrees.  Remove from oven, tent with foil and let sit for 15 minutes to allow juice to redistribute.

Carve the chicken.  Serve the chicken and potatoes drizzled with pan juices and sprinkled with the gremolata.