Lemon-herb roast chicken with new potatoes

Serves - 4

You’ll need

• 1 whole chicken, about 1.6–1.8kg
• 750g–1kg new potatoes, halved if large
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 50g butter, softened
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 lemon, halved
• 3 garlic cloves, finely grated or crushed
• 1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tbsp chopped thyme leaves
• 1 tbsp chopped rosemary, finely chopped
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Prepare the chicken

Preheat the oven to 200°C fan.

Pat the chicken dry all over with kitchen paper. This is not glamorous, but it does help the skin crisp up properly.

In a small bowl, mix the softened butter with the lemon zest, garlic, parsley, thyme, rosemary, a generous pinch of salt, and plenty of black pepper.

Rub the herb butter all over the chicken, and if you can, ease some of it gently under the skin over the breast as well. Put the lemon halves inside the cavity. Season the outside of the chicken well.

2. Get the potatoes started

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the new potatoes for 8 minutes. Drain well and let them steam dry for a minute or two.

Tip them into a roasting tin with the olive oil, salt, and black pepper, and toss well.

3. Roast

Sit the chicken on top of the potatoes, or on a rack above them if you have one. Roast for 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 35 minutes, depending on the size of the bird, turning the potatoes once or twice during cooking so they colour evenly.

The chicken is ready when the juices run clear from the thickest part of the thigh, or when it reaches 75°C on a thermometer.

4. Rest and finish

Lift the chicken out and rest it loosely covered for 15–20 minutes. Give the potatoes a toss and return them to the oven if they need a little extra colour or crispness while the bird rests.

5. Serve

Carve the chicken and serve with the new potatoes and all the roasting juices spooned over the top.

A couple of helpful notes

- A handful of green beans or a simple salad alongside would do very nicely here.
- If you want even more lemon lift, a final squeeze over the carved chicken just before serving works beautifully.