Poulet Provencal

I am not a big fan of handling a whole raw chicken but I love roast chicken recipes because I can get multiple meals out of just one dish. We recently tried this one from Gourmet magazine, via epicurious.com and it was delicious--way better than those rotisserie chickens you can get at the market. If you're like me and hate handling the whole bird, you could probably use some skin-on chicken breasts instead with okay results. But seriously, if I can get over my squeamishness so can you and the payoff is pretty damn good.

• 1 pound tomatoes (3 to 4 medium), cut into wedges
• 1 large onion, cut into wedges, leaving root ends intact
• 1/2 cup drained brine-cured black olives, pitted if desired
• 1 fennel bulb, cut into wedges
  
• 4 large garlic cloves, sliced, plus 1 teaspoon minced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 teaspoons herbes de Provence, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 whole chicken (about 3 1/2 pounds)

Preheat convection oven to 400°F for regular oven to 425°F with rack in middle.

Toss together tomatoes, onion, olives, fennel bulb, sliced garlic, 2 tablespoons oil, 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence, fennel seeds, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a 13- by 9-inch or other 3-quart shallow baking dish. Push vegetables to sides of dish to make room for chicken.

Stir together minced garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, remaining teaspoon herbes de Provence, and remaining tablespoon olive oil.

Remove excess fat from chicken and pat dry, then rub inside and out with seasoning mixture. Tie legs together with string, then put chicken in baking dish.

Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of a thigh (do not touch bone) registers 170°F, about 1 hour in convection oven; 1 to 1 1/4 hours in regular oven.

Let chicken stand 10 minutes before carving. Serve with vegetables and pan juices.