Jamie Oliver's Perfect Roast Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 (1.6 kg) whole chicken
• 2 medium onions
• 2 carrots
• 2 stalks of celery
• 1 head of garlic
• Olive oil
• 1 lemon
• 1 bunch mixed fresh herbs such as thyme, rosemary and bay leaf

Preparation:

1. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking, it should come to room temperature.
2. Preheat oven to 240°C.
   
   Wash the vegetables thoroughly and chop them coarsely—no need to peel them. Separate the garlic cloves without peeling them.
   
   Place all the vegetables, garlic and herbs in the center of a large roasting pan and drizzle with oil.
3. Drizzle the chicken with oil and season well with sea salt and black pepper, then rub all over the bird. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables.
4. Carefully pierce the lemon all over with the tip of a sharp knife (if you have a microwave, you can heat the lemon for 40 seconds). Place the lemon inside the chicken with a bunch of herbs, and tie the legs together.
   
   Place the baking tray in the oven, then reduce the temperature to 200°C and cook for 1 hour 20 minutes.
5. If you're making roast potatoes and vegetables, now's the time to put them in - cook them in the oven during the last 45 minutes of cooking the chicken.
   
   Halfway through cooking, you can add a little water to the pan to prevent the dish from burning.
6. When the chicken is cooked through, remove the baking sheet from the oven and place it on a board to cool for 15 minutes or more. Cover it with foil and a towel and let it rest while you make the sauce.
   
   

   Cutting up a chicken

   
   Remove the string and cut off the wings (cut at the joint and add to the sauce along with the roasted vegetables for added flavor). Carefully cut between the thigh and breast. Cut through the joint and separate the legs.
7. Then, cut each leg between the thigh and drumstick, creating 4 portions of dark meat. Place on a serving platter.
   
   You should now have enough room to carve out the rest of the chicken. Run a knife along the breast and carve one side, then the other.
8. Use your fingers to separate the remaining meat from the breast shell, flip the chicken over, and separate the remaining meat from the back. You'll be left with a chicken carcass and a dish full of delicious chicken meat, which you can serve with gravy and delicious baked vegetables.