If you love roast chicken and vegetables, this one-pot dinner from the May issue of Everyday Food is perfect for you. Rub a whole chicken with spices, arrange wedges of carrot, sweet potato and orange around it and roast until the chicken is done. The recipe says a 3½- to 4-lb. chicken will be ready in an hour, but mine took about an hour and 15 minutes. The roasted orange wedges add great flavour.

Rub a whole chicken with spices and arrange vegetables and orange wedges around it

Roast until the chicken skin is golden and the internal temperature is at least 165 degrees

I used one large sweet potato instead of two and added a parsnip to the mix. I served the chicken and vegetables with couscous.

Coucous is a nice accompaniment

To avoid additives and preservatives in this recipe, make sure your spices are all-natural and do not contain anti-caking agents or colour.

Ingredients:

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground coriander

½ tsp ground cumin

1 whole chicken, 3½ to 4 lbs., rinsed and patted dry, legs tied

Coarse salt and ground pepper

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, halved crosswise and cut into ½-inch wedges

2 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces

1 orange, unpeeled, cut into 8 wedges

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a small bowl, combine spices. Season chicken with salt and pepper, then rub all over with spice mixture. Place in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid. Arrange vegetables and orange wedges around chicken and add ½ cup water. Cover and roast 30 minutes. Remove lid and roast until skin is golden brown and juices run clear when chicken is pierced between breast and leg (an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of a thigh, avoiding bone, should read 165 degrees), 30-45 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes, covered loosely with foil, before carving. Serve with vegetables and orange wedges. Serves 4.

From the May 2011 issue of Everyday Food