Categories: Chicken
Ingredients
- lemon
- small bunch fresh thyme
- 1 x 1.5-2kg/3lb 5oz-4lb 6oz free-range chicken, preferably organic
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 50ml/2fl oz olive oil
- sea salt, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
-
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
-
Slice the lemon halfway through lengthways. Insert a sprig of thyme into the slit and place the lemon inside the cavity of the chicken.
-
Make the flavoured oil. Strip the leaves from the remaining thyme stalks and place the leaves in a bowl.
-
Press the garlic cloves with the heel of your hand to lightly crush. Remove the skins and add the garlic cloves to the bowl.
-
Pour the olive oil into the bowl.
-
Using a pestle and mortar, a mini food processor or a hand blender, blend together the thyme leaves, garlic and olive oil. It should be quite liquid.
-
Spoon the thyme, garlic and oil mixture all over the chicken, working it into all the nooks and crannies.
-
Place the chicken in a roasting tray and pour over the remaining flavoured oil. Season the chicken generously with sea salt and black pepper.
-
Cover the chicken loosely with foil and roast in the oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the foil and roast for another 20-30 minutes and reduce the temperature to 160C-180C/320F-350F/Gas 3-4. It’s fully cooked when the juices run clear when the bird is pierced in the thigh with a skewer.
-
.Turn off the oven and let the bird rest in the residual heat for at least ten minutes. Remove from the oven, then carve.
-
.Stir the pan juices over the hob to heat through.
-
.Serve the carved chicken on a large platter and pour the pan juices over the top.