Serves 4
Prep time: 25 minutes
INGREDIENTS
2–3 cups roughly chopped assorted root vegetables (carrots, parsnips, potatoes)
2 medium (12 oz/350 g total) yellow onions, thickly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 small lemons, grate the zest of one and use both for the chicken
6 sprigs fresh thyme
2 teaspoons flaky sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 whole chicken (3 lb/1.5 kg)
2 cloves garlic, unpeeled but smashed
Cook time: about 1 1/2 hours
A few sprigs fresh thyme
1/4 cup (57 g) salted butter, at room temperature
1–2 teaspoons dried Herbes de Provence or dried thyme
Freshly ground black pepper
FOR BASTING
1/4 cup (57 g) salted butter, melted
2 cloves garlic, unpeeled but smashed
1. Preheat the oven to 425˚F (220˚C).
2. Scatter the chopped vegetables in a roasting pan with the olive oil.
Add the lemon zest, thyme, salt and pepper to the vegetables and, using your hands, mix until all the vegetables are coated. Make sure the vegetables are sitting evenly on the bottom of the roasting pan.
3. Pat the cavity of the bird dry using a paper towel.
4. Cut both the lemons in quarters and place them in the cavity of the bird with the smashed garlic and a few sprigs of fresh thyme. If all the lemon quarters don’t fit, you can pop them in the pan with the vegetables, just don’t forget to take them out when you are serving the chicken.
5. Cut about half of the butter into small pieces and place them under the skin of the bird. To do this, start at the cavity end of the chicken and slide one or two fingers between the meat and the skin. Work slowly, separating the skin from the meat as far as you can reach. Squish the butter pieces slightly and fit them under the skin as best you can.
6. Spread the remainder of the butter over the outside of the skin. The easiest way to do this is with your hands. Season the bird with the Herbes de Provence or dried thyme and a touch of pepper.
7. Place the bird directly on the vegetables in the roasting pan and place in the oven for 20 minutes, until the skin starts to brown nicely.
To smash a garlic clove, place it on a cutting board and place a large knife that's wider than the garlic clove flat on top of the garlic with the blade facing away from you. Press down hard until the garlic clove splits. Voila! you've smashed it. This is also an easy way to peel garlic