ITALIAN CHICKEN

SERVES 4 PREP 15 MINS COOK 1 HOUR PER SERVE 3553kj COST $$$

⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil 4 large onions, sliced 4 garlic cloves, crushed 1 tbsp thyme leaves, plus sprigs to serve 1.8kg whole chicken, segmented ⅓ cup plain flour, seasoned 3 lemons, 2 thinly sliced, 1 quartered 1 ½ cups chicken stock, hot 500g cherry truss tomatoes ½ cup Sicilian green olives

1 Preheat oven to moderate, 180°C. 2 In a large frying pan, heat half oil on medium. Cook onions and garlic 20-25 minutes, stirring regularly, until very tender and pale golden. Season well. Spread over a baking dish. Sprinkle thyme over. Set aside. 3 In same pan, heat remaining oil on high. Coat chicken in flour, shaking off excess. Cook in two batches, 3-4 minutes each side, until golden brown. Place on top of onion mixture. 4 Arrange sliced lemon on chicken, removing seeds, and overlapping slightly. Squeeze the juice from remaining lemon over. Pour hot stock over. 5 Bake 45-50 minutes until chicken is very brown. Scatter tomatoes and olives around chicken during last 10 minutes. 6 Transfer chicken and onions to a platter. Serve with roasted potatoes and thyme sprigs.

“We first tried this dish on a family holiday in Italy. I love recreating it for more relaxed family dinners. Just add salad!”