Ingredients:
1 ½ Tbl salt plus 1 tsp salt
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
One- 4-5 lb chicken
¾ cup yogurt
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
4 garlic cloves, grated on a micro plane
1 Tbl fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme
3 Tbl Harissa, plus more to taste (find bottled at grocery store)
2 cups assorted vegetables, cut into chucks (whatever is in your vegetable drawer)
Directions:
Combine 1 ½ Tbl salt and pepper into a small bowl. Place the chicken in a wide bowl and season it inside and out with the mixture.
In a separate bowl, combine the yogurt, lemon juice, grated garlic, the remaining 1 tsp salt, thyme leaves and harissa. Place the chicken in a 1-gallon resealable plastic bag. Pour the mixture over the chicken and use a rubber spatula to coat the chicken all over, inside and out with the mixture. Seal the bag and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or more.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Scatter the vegetables in a 10 “cast iron skillet. Remove the chicken from the marinade and let excess coating drip off, leaving a thin coating, and put into the pan on top of the vegetables. Add ¼ cup of water to the pan.
Roast the chicken for 45 minutes. Reduce the oven temp to 350 degrees and baste adding ¼ cup of water if necessary if the pan looks dry and bake for 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Transfer the chicken to a carving board to rest. After 5 minutes cut the chicken into pieces and serve with the roasted vegetables in the bottom of the pan.