The chicken is in the oven—heat forming a golden crust that seals in the juices, salt working its silent alchemy within, denaturing some of the proteins in tough muscles making those parts more tender and flavorful. Roasting is the easiest way to cook chicken and the tastiest. All that is required to reach perfection is time and the perfect salt. Sugpo Asin, a king among salts, glowing rose-cloud white, lush and firmly crunchy, with dulcet brine notes that play lavishly (but with discipline) against the sweet tamed gaminess of poultry, honors this basic meat and vegetable meal as all basic meals should be honored—asserting the preeminence of simple home cooking as the cornerstone of eating well.

　　

Ingredients

serves 4

　　3 celery ribs, cut into 1-inch slices

　　1 yellow onion, cut into 1-inch wedges

　　2 golden potatoes, cut into 1-inch wedges

　　2 golden beets, 2 turnips, or 1 rutabaga, trimmed of greens, peeled, and cut into 1-inch wedges

　　2 carrots or 3 parsnips, trimmed of greens, peeled, and cut into 1-inch chunks

　　2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

　　3 rosemary twigs, cut in half

　　2 three-finger pinches Sugpo Asin or Ilocano Asin (or substitute sel gris)

　　1 chicken (about 4 pounds), visible fat removed, washed and dried

　　2 tablespoons dry vermouth

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

　　

Step 2

Toss the vegetables with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large roasting pan. Stick 4 rosemary pieces into the vegetables and scatter with a three-finger pinch of sel gris and a two-finger pinch of pepper.

　　

Step 3

Sprinkle the interior cavity of the chicken with a three-finger pinch of salt and a two-finger pinch of pepper. Coat the outside of the chicken with the remaining olive oil and place the chicken, breast side down, on top of the vegetables.

　　

Step 4

Roast for 45 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 400°F, and turn the chicken breast side up. It’s easiest to use large tongs with one arm inserted into the chicken cavity and the other gripping the outside of the bird. Roast for 30 minutes more, or until the skin is golden brown and a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 160°F.

　　

Step 5

Remove the chicken to a carving board and let rest for 5 minutes before carving, allowing the internal temperature to come to 165°F.

　　

Step 6

Carve the chicken and arrange in the center of a serving platter. Remove and discard the rosemary branches from the roasted vegetables and, using a slotted spoon, arrange the vegetables around the chicken.

　　

Step 7

Skim off excess fat from the juices in the roasting pan, leaving just a film of fat. Place the roasting pan on a burner over medium-high heat. Add the leaves of the remaining rosemary and the vermouth to the drippings in the pan. Bring to a boil, then spoon over the chicken and vegetables. Scatter the remaining pinches of salt and pepper over all and serve.

　　Salted