Now that school is back in session I’ve been looking to get more creative with simple to prepare meals. Not that I wasn’t before, it’s just that I had a lot more time during the summer because there was no urgency around exact times to eat dinner. Now that my daughter is in school I’m all about convenience and bold flavors, which can sometimes be difficult to do. While most people think simple and delicious should be done in under 30 minutes, I lean more towards an hour or less except of course when it comes to braising things in the oven like this Oven Roasted Whole Curry Chicken with Vegetables and Rice, or cooking in a slow cooker.
When my daughter was young she used to love when I make Thai curry in the slow cooker and it’s actually been a few years since I re-introduced it, so I figured this would be great time to make this Oven Roasted Whole Curry Chicken with Vegetables and Rice. While the chicken method of cooking is definitely different than that of my slow cooker version, there is one thing it doesn’t lack, Flavor! When I was in the restaurant industry we would roast whole chickens in buttermilk and OMG were they so good. Sticking with that same concept and with the addition of curry I thought it would be fun to relive those culinary days by roasting a whole chicken in curry and Ripple Milk (dairy-free and plant-based) . Whenever I am creating recipes I oftentimes look to my past for inspiration and how I can tweak it to make it different, and then I almost always take a stroll down the dairy and frozen food aisles. There are always new things popping up in both of those sections and since my wife is looking to be dairy-free these days, I knew the Ripple Milk would be perfect.
The pea milk isn’t only perfect because it’s dairy free, but also because things like peas and lentils are really big in Indian cuisine, so I knew those natural pea flavors would be phenomenal when roasting the chicken. To start you need to season the chicken on all sides, and in the cavity, with salt and pepper and then brown it up in a large Dutch oven pot. Since half of the chicken will be submerged in the curry milk mixture, you’ll want to ensure you get the skin really crispy before putting it in there. Once the chicken is brown, set it to the side and add some garlic, onions and lemon grass to the pot and cook it for a few minutes or until the onions are lightly browned.
The braising liquid should be really flavorful and help season the chicken even more, so whisk in some of the Ripple Pea Milk, curry paste, soy sauce, salt and pepper, and place the chicken right back in the pot. It’s totally ok that the top ½ of the chicken will be hanging out of the milk. Simply put the pot in the oven and cook it for 90 to 105 minutes, basting every 20 minutes to make sure the braising liquid flavor is running through the chicken.
Once the chicken is done cooking, I like to remove it from the liquid and wrap it up in foil to sort of rest the meat and seal in those juices and flavors. Put the pot back on the burner over medium heat and add in some potatoes and carrots, and cook them until they are tender. I mentioned earlier about how important it is for me to visit the frozen and dairy sections in the grocery store, and especially the frozen aisles when it comes to vegetables. Frozen vegetables are picked at their maximum ripeness and are immediately frozen to preserve quality, and since we are a huge organic food family, Earthbound Farms is always on our list. They have an exceptional assortment of frozen vegetables and are extremely fresh once cooked. The Earthbound Farms peas were a perfect finish to the vegetable repertoire in this Oven Roasted Whole Curry Chicken with Vegetables and Rice recipe. The starch in the potatoes actually help to thicken the milk curry mixture, making it a wonderful sauce to serve up with the chicken and white basmati rice.
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- 1 whole chicken, giblets removed
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 peeled and medium diced yellow onion
- 5 finely minced cloves of garlic
- 2 6” lemon grass stalks
- 48 ounces of Ripple Milk
- 3 tablespoons of red curry paste
- 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
- 2 medium diced Yukon potatoes
- 3 peeled and medium diced carrots
- 1 cup of Earthbound Farms peas
- 4 cups of cooked white basmati rice
- cilantro leaves, sliced green onions and sliced mini red peppers for garnish
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
- Preheat the oven to 375°.
- Season the chicken on all sides with salt and pepper.
- Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven pot at medium-high heat and brown the chicken on all sides until crispy. Remove the chicken and add the onions, garlic and lemon grass to the pot and cook over medium heat until the onions are lightly browned, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Next, whisk in the milk, curry paste, soy sauce, salt and pepper and then place the chicken back in the pot.
- Place the pot in the oven and bake at 375° for 90 to 105 minutes basting the chicken every 20 minutes.
- Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the curry-milk mixture and return the pot to the burner over low heat and cook the potatoes and carrots until tender, about 10 to 12 minutes.
- Finish by adding in the peas and cook for 2 to 3 minutes over medium heat.
- Garnish the chicken with cilantro, green onions and peppers and serve alongside cooked basmati rice and curry stewed vegetables.