Easy Roast Chicken with Rosemary and Lemon

Written By Alex Johnston
 
 

SERVES 4

COOKS IN 1 HOUR 25 MINUTES PLUS RESTING TIME

DIFFICULTY: SUPER EASY

INGREDIENTS: Chicken, Olive Oil, 1 red onion, 1 lemon, 2 TB of butter, salt, pepper, 50 grams of fresh rosemary

  1. Remove the chicken from the fridge 10 minutes before you want to cook it, this will help it cook more evenly.

  2. Preheat the oven to 240°C

  3. Drizzle the chicken with oil and season well with sea salt and black pepper, then rub all over the bird. Stretch the skin and spread butter under the skin with fingers.

  4. Preheat the oven to 240°C

  5. Roughly chop onion into 4.

  6. Drizzle the chicken with oil and season well with sea salt and black pepper, then rub all over the bird. Place the chicken in a baking tray.

  7. Carefully prick the lemon all over, using the tip of a sharp knife (if you have a microwave, you could pop the lemon in these for 40 seconds at this point as this will really bring out the flavour). Cut the lemon in half and put the lemon inside the chicken’s cavity, with the red onion and the fresh rosemary.

  8. Place the tray in the oven, then turn the heat down immediately to 200°C and cook for 1 hour 20 minutes.

  9. If you’re doing roast potatoes and veggies, this is the time put them in – get them into the oven for the last 45 minutes of cooking.

  10. Baste the chicken halfway through cooking

  11. When the chicken is cooked, take the tray out of the oven and transfer the chicken to a board to rest for 15 minutes or so. Cover it with a layer of tin foil and a tea towel and leave aside.

 
Alex Johnston