Roast Chicken with Lemon & Thyme

Today I'm going back to basics because there's nothing as delicious as a perfectly roasted chicken.

Over the years, I've picked up techniques from people and books, and combined them into what I think makes for a great recipe.

• 1 chicken
• 1 lemon
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 sprigs of thyme
• 1 tablespoon roasted garlic paste
• Freshly ground salt and black pepper
• 1 cup chicken stock

Remove leaves from one stalk of thyme and finely chop, putting the rest aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, juice of half the lemon (save the skin), thyme, garlic paste, salt and pepper.

Wash and clean the chicken, removing the head and feet. Make sure the chicken is patted dry with paper towels, both inside and out.

Squeeze the juice of the other half of the lemon into the cavity of the chicken, rubbing well. Stuff in the cloves of garlic, remaining two sprigs of thyme and the lemon rinds into the cavity. Using a skewer, "sew" the skin to close the cavity.

Stuffing the cavity with the lemon and herbs keeps the bird moist and as the chicken cooks, imparts a rich lemon and herb flavour to the meat.

Now, you want to truss the chicken. Trussing keeps the wings and legs close to the chicken and the wingtips tucked under. This allows the chicken to cook evenly, without the wings and legs drying out, as well as prevents the wing tips from burning.

First, tie a loop of twine around the neck of the chicken. Then cross over the back and loop around the wing tips.

Make another cross and bring the twine to the front of the chicken. Bring the leg ends together and tie off with the twine.

Place the prepared chicken in the bowl of marinating liquid and coat well all around. Leave the chicken breast down and cover with cling film. Leave to marinate in the fridge for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 160C. Prepare a baking dish with a small wire rack at the bottom and pour in the chicken stock.

The reason I like the bird elevated is that the bottom cooks nice and crisp. I really hate for the bottom to swim around in the juices and get all soggy.

Why the chicken stock at the bottom of the pan? In the hot oven, it turns to steam, and keeps the bird moist and juicy. It also catches the drippings from the chicken for a nice jus to go with the roasted bird.

Roast at 160C for 1 hour, making sure you rotate it every now and then so it roasts evenly. Use the leftover marinade to baste. In the last 15 minutes, crank up the temperature to 190C so the skin gets golden and crisp.

When done, remove from oven and let the chicken rest for 15 minutes. In the meantime, pour the juices from the roasting pan into a saucepan and boil until reduce until thick for a nice jus.