Roast spring chicken

Serves 5-6, 10 mins preparation, 1 hour 15 mins cooking

Ingredients

• 1 lemon, juice and grated zest (save the lemon halves)
• Sea salt and milled black pepper
• 100g unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1.8kg free range chicken
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 small bunch fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon plain flour
• 300ml boiling water

To serve

• Spring vegetables or salad
• New potatoes

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 220°C/gas mark 8.
2. Mix the lemon zest with a pinch of sea salt and put to one side.
3. Using your hands, smear the butter all over the chicken and place it in a roasting tin. Season with the pepper and squeeze the lemon juice over.
4. Put the squeezed-out lemon halves, garlic and thyme inside the chicken cavity.
5. Roast the chicken for 15 minutes. Baste it with the juices, then turn the oven down to 190°C/gas mark 5 and roast for 40 minutes more, basting occasionally.
6. Sprinkle the salted lemon zest over the chicken and cook for a further 10 minutes. Remove it from the oven - it should be golden brown and crisp.
7. Lift and tip the chicken to let the juices run from the cavity back into the roasting tin. Place the chicken on a dish and keep in a warm place for 15 minutes before carving.
8. Pour 2 tablespoons of the roasting juices into a cup, mix with the flour and blend to a smooth paste. Add the boiling water to the roasting tin and, over a medium heat, whisk in the flour paste to thicken, and then simmer for 2 minutes.
9. Serve the chicken with spring vegetables or salad, and new potatoes.

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