FANTASTIC ROASTED CHICKEN

For 6 people

Ingredients
900g/2lb chicken, preferably organic
1 large lemon
8 slices prosciutto or Parma ham, thinly sliced
1-2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 good handfuls of fresh thyme, leaves picked and
finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
115g/4oz or ½ pack softened butter
1kg/2lb 3oz potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 large celeriac, peeled
Method
Preheat oven and an appropriately sized roasting
tray to 220c/425f/Gas 7
1 Wash your chicken inside and out, and pay dry
with kitchen paper. Using your fingers, part the
breast skin from the breast meat.
2 It's important to try to push your hand gently
down the breast, being careful not to rip the skin.
3 With a peeler, remove and chop the fragrant
yellow skin of the lemon, keeping the peeled lemon
to one side.
4 Tear up your prosciutto and add to a bowl with
the lemon skin, garlic and thyme.
5 Season and scrunch it all into the butter. Push
this into the space you have made between the
meat and skin - rub and massage any that's leftover
in and around the bird.
6 Slash the thigh meat to allow the heat to
penetrate a little more, which makes it taste better.
Halve the peeled lemon and push it into the cavity.
Put your chicken in the hot tray and roast in the
preheated oven for 20 minutes.
7 While the chicken is cooking, parboil the potatoes
in salted water for 10 minutes and drain. Cut the
celeriac into irregular chunks around the same size
as the potatoes.
8 Remove the chicken from the oven, by which
time the tasty butter will have melted, flavoured
and cooked out of the chicken into the bottom of
the tray, awaiting your potatoes and celeriac.
9 Put a fork into the cavity of the chicken and lift it
out of the tray for 20 seconds while you toss and
coat the vegetables in the butter. Put the chicken
back on top of the vegetables and cook for around
40 minutes.
10 Stand for 10 minutes. Once the meat and
vegetables have been removed, a light gravy can be
made in the tray on the hob with stock, a splash of
wine, a little simmering and some scraping.