- 2½5kg avg whole chicken
- 1½ tbsp wholegrain mustard
- 60g honey
- 1½ lemon
- 6 garlic cloves
- A handful of flat leaf parsley
- 1½ tbsp thyme oil
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- Large roasting tin
- 1.
Preheat your oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 8. Unwrap the chicken and remove the giblets (save them for making homemade stock – see our tip). Pat the chicken dry and pop it into a roasting tin.
- 2.
Add 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard to a small bowl and drizzle in the honey. Finely slice the parsley stalks, setting the leaves to one side. Add the parsley stalks to the bowl. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and stir to mix.
- 3.
Brush half the honey and mustard mixture all over the chicken. Slice the lemon in half. Pop 1 lemon half into the chicken’s cavity, along with the unpeeled garlic cloves. Cover the chicken with foil, scrunching it to the sides of the tin. Slide into the oven to roast 1 hr 15 mins.
- 4.
When the chicken has roasted for 1 hr 15 mins, remove the foil. Brush a little more of the honey and mustard glaze over the chicken and slide it back into the oven, uncovered, for 5 mins. Remove from the oven again, brush the chicken with the remaining glaze and then roast for 5-10 mins, till the skin is golden and sticky.
- 5.
Take the chicken out of the oven and check if it’s cooked through by inserting a knife or skewer into the fattest part of the leg. The juices should run clear. If not, roast for 10-15 mins more. When cooked, lift the chicken out onto a plate or board, loosely cover with foil and rest for 30 mins.
- 6.
While the chicken is resting, scoop the garlic cloves out of the cavity with a spoon. Squeeze the roast garlic flesh out of the skins and crush it into a paste. Pop the paste to a small bowl and pour in 1 tbsp thyme oil and squeeze in the juice from the remaining lemon half. Finely chop the parsley leaves and add them to the bowl. Add a little salt and pepper and stir to combine.
- 7.
Carve the roast chicken and serve it drizzled in the lemony thyme and garlic dressing.
- Tip
Take stock
A giblet stock is easy to make – just pop the giblets in a large pan with a sliced onion, chopped carrot, celery, a bay leaf and a few sprigs of thyme and parsley. Add 2 ltrs water. Cover, bring to the boil, then simmer for 2 hrs. Strain into a sealable container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. This stock is perfect for adding to soups, risottos and gravies. - Tip
The Whole Roast
Turn your roast chicken into a feast but serving it with polenta coated roast potatoes, garlicky fried kale and golden carrots.