Roast with the most

Make Sunday lunch extra special with these glorious one-pan chicken winners from food writer Claire Thomson

Whole roast chicken with lemon, garlic, fennel & bay

If there is one simple version of whole roast chicken that I cook most often and without all that much forethought or preparation, it is probably this. With Italy in mind, the chicken is cooked with lemons, fennel and garlic – some indecently crisp roasted potatoes and a pile of simply cooked seasonal greens with lemon and olive oil alongside would be perfect, I think. I was probably aged around 11 years old when my mum first taught me to roast a whole chicken. Roasting a chicken well is a lifelong skill that will feed you, your family and many friends for years to come. At the very least you must ensure your chicken is well seasoned and never, ever, let the roasting tin dry out and scorch – there lies a spoilt dinner. Serves 4 n

3 thyme sprigs, leaves picked from

2 sprigs, 1 kept whole

1 unwaZed lemon, \est finely grated and halved for squeezing garlic cloXes, finely crushed

2 tsp fennel seeds, bashed a little 40g butter, softened at room

temperature, or 3 tbsp olive oil 1 whole chicken (about 1.5kg) 1 onion, cut into 1cm slices

1 fennel bulb, trimmed and cut

into 1cm slices

3 bay leaves, scrunched a little chicken stock or water

1 Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/ gas 7. Mix the thyme leaves, lemon zest, garlic and fennel seeds into the softened butter. Rub the chicken all over with the flavoured butter, pushing some of the butter up and under or between the flesh and skin – just take care not to make any tears in the skin. Season the chicken generously, both inside and out, with salt and black pepper. 2 Place the onion and fennel slices in a roasting tin, then put the chicken on top. Add the bay leaves and the whole thyme sprig to the cavity of the chicken.

3 Add 1cm-depth of chicken stock or water to the bottom of the tin and roast for 1 hr–1 hr 20 mins, until golden brown and the juices run clear when you push a skewer into the largest and juiciest part of the chicken leg. You can also test by using a digital thermometer – it should give an internal meat temperature of 75C. Adding a splash more water or stock to the pan throughout the cooking time is paramount to stop the pan and chicken from scorching.

4 Allow the chicken to rest for

20 mins before carving, straining any cooking juices to serve, and squeezing over the lemon juice.