A Cheeky Roasted Chicken with Lemon, Garlic and Herbs

I love a cheeky weekday roast without the hard work and lots of pans.  I've taken out the backbone and flattened it out to speed up the cooking time and maximise the amount of crispy skin.  I'll roast it later today on a bed of veg, herbs, garlic and lemon.  A bowl of golden crunchy mini roasties will be on the side drizzled with the juices from the roasting dish or with a jug of gravy.

Oven ready flattened chicken

Ingredients

1 free range chicken approx 1.5 - 2 kg, backbone removed and bird flattened by pressing down hard on the breast bone.

3 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

2 celery sticks, washed and roughly chopped

6 shallots, peeled and left whole

1 head of garlic, halved

1 lemon, zested over the chicken and then halved

Mild olive oil to drizzle over the chicken

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Herbs, such as tarragon, thyme and parsley.

Gravy

1 tbsp plain flour

250 chicken stock

Pan juices. 

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C.  Place the veg in an ovenproof dish.  Next place the flattened bird on top of the veg. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with the herbs of choice.  Snuggle the garlic and lemon up with the chicken and add a flourish of salt and pepper.  Roast in the oven for 1 hour or until the thigh juices run clear.  Once cooked remove from the oven and place on a serving dish with the roasted veg, cover to keep it warm and rest for 20 minutes.  While the chicken is resting, make the gravy. Place the roasting tin over a low heat, making sure you squeeze all the softened garlic from the skins and discard the lemon skins.  Then stir in the flour and cook until you have a light brown paste. Gradually pour in the stock, stirring or whisking all the time, until you have a thickened sauce. Simmer for 2 mins, using a wooden spoon to stir, scraping any sticky bits from the tin and season to taste and serve in a jug with the roasties. When you portion the bird, add any extra juices to the gravy.