At Christmas, turkey often takes center stage. But when entertaining a smaller group or simply wanting to do something different, a festive and hassle-free alternative is sometimes the best option.
Entertaining, after all, should be about pleasure, simplicity, and shared moments, not kitchen stress. Inspired by lemon chicken but reimagined with local flavors, this whole roast chicken with sea buckthorn and sumac is a delicious alternative to turkey. An elegant, comforting, and easy-to-prepare recipe, perfect for impressing your guests while fully enjoying the magic of the holidays.
For this recipe, we used a 2 kg chicken. Feel free to adjust the cooking time if your chicken is smaller or larger; the important thing is to reach an internal temperature of 74°C.
As for the vegetables, feel free to choose your favorites. For this recipe, we've opted for seasonal and local produce. The important thing is to cut the vegetables into similarly sized pieces to ensure even cooking. You can use the size of Brussels sprouts as a guide to determine the ideal size for the pieces.
Ingredients
- 1 whole grain-fed chicken (2 kg)
- 1/2 cup individually frozen organic sea buckthorn berries from Les argousiers du Lac-Brome
- 1 tsp Racines boréales staghorn sumac
- 1 tbsp La Morin Original Mustard
- 1 tbsp of classic summer honey from Miels d'Anicet
- 1/2 cup of organic high oleic sunflower oil from Huilerie Arôme des Champs
- 1/2 lbs of baby potatoes
- 1/2 lbs of Nantes carrots
- 1 small yellow turnip
- About 15 Brussels sprouts
- 2 leeks
- 1 yellow onion
- A few sprigs of fresh thyme
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). In a food processor, combine the marinade ingredients: sea buckthorn berries, mustard, sumac, honey, oil, and a generous pinch of salt. Process until smooth. Divide the marinade in half.
- Thoroughly pat and dry the whole chicken. Cut the two onions into large wedges. In a roasting pan large enough to hold the chicken and vegetables, place the onions on the bottom, then place the chicken on top. Generously brush the chicken with the first portion of the marinade, both inside and out. Add the thyme sprigs to the cavity of the chicken. Place in the oven and cook uncovered for 40 minutes.
- Cut the carrots, turnip, and leeks into pieces similar in size to the Brussels sprouts, leaving the sprouts and baby potatoes whole. Place all the vegetables in a bowl, add the second portion of the marinade, and mix well before arranging them in the roasting pan around the chicken. If the roasting pan isn't large enough, you can arrange them on a baking sheet. Make sure the vegetables are arranged in a single layer for even cooking, then continue roasting uncovered for 30 minutes.
- After cooking, check the tenderness of the vegetables with the tip of a knife. Place the chicken on a serving platter and arrange the vegetables around it. You can add a few sprigs of thyme to garnish the plate. Perfect for serving directly at the table.
- Enjoy your meal and happy holidays!
