Roasted Chicken with Herb Gravy

Ingredients

• 1 whole free-range chicken, 1.8kg
• 600 ml chicken stock
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 2 carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 onions, finely diced
• 1 garlic, crushed
• 150 ml red or white wine
• 100 g butter
• 1 lemo n
• 2 celeries, finely diced
• 15 g mixed woody herbs
• 1 tsp berry jam
• Crusty bread, to serve
• 0.5 lemon, to serve
• Dressed green salad, to serve
• Fresh parsley, to serve

Method

1. Take the chicken out of the fridge an hour before cooking so it comes to room temperature — this is the difference between evenly cooked meat and a cold middle.
2. Heat the oven to 180°C fan.
3. Soften the butter with your hands until spreadable, then massage it all over the chicken, getting under the skin of the breast where you can. Season generously with salt and pepper.
4. Sit the lemon halves and a few sprigs of the woody herbs inside the cavity. Place the chicken in a roasting tray.
5. Scatter the carrots, onions, celery and smashed garlic bulb around the bird, then strew the remaining herbs over the top.
6. Roast for 90 minutes, basting two or three times with the buttery juices and turning the vegetables so they catch colour rather than burn.
7. Check it's done by lifting the chicken with tongs and tilting — the juices from the cavity should run clear. The thigh meat should pull away easily from the bone.
8. Transfer the chicken to a platter, cover loosely with foil and a tea towel, and rest for 30 minutes. Don't skip this — the meat reabsorbs its juices and carves cleanly.
9. Set the roasting tray over medium heat on the hob and spoon off most of the fat, leaving the dark sticky bits behind.
10. Scatter in the flour, crush the softened vegetables into the tray with the back of a spoon, and stir to scrape up every caramelised bit.
11. Pour in the wine and let it bubble down for 2 minutes until the raw alcohol smell lifts. Add the stock and the teaspoon of jam, then simmer for 10 minutes until glossy and thickened.
12. Strain the gravy through a sieve into a warm jug, pressing the vegetables to extract every drop of flavour.
13. Carve the chicken and serve with the gravy, a squeeze of lemon and a generous scatter of torn parsley.