Classic Roast Chicken with Fresh Herbs, Garlic and Lemon

I am on day 6 of the Whole 30, which I talked about briefly in my previous post. If you would like to know more about it, check out their website, thewhole9life.com! It might sound like you have very limited options when all you are allowed to eat is meat, vegetables, fruit and nuts & seeds, but there are tons of amazing recipes that are easy to make and are totally delicious.

Last night I made a Roast Chicken. I love chicken, I really do and it is really easy to make a whole chicken, trust me! Do you know how many recipes you can create out of one roasting chicken? Lots and lots! Never, ever throw out your chicken carcass, you need it for homemade chicken stock, which can then be used for soups, stews, and lots of other delicious meals.

Try this recipe for Roast Chicken!

Classic Roast Chicken with Fresh Herbs, Garlic and Lemon

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 3lb roasting chicken
1 large lemon, sliced
1 T olive oil
1 bunch fresh Herbs de Provence (I used Sage, Thyme and Rosemary to keep it simple)
8 cloves garlic
1 large onion, quartered
2 large carrots, roughly chopped
3 stalks celery, roughly chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Don't bother peeling the carrots, onion or garlic - only use 4 cloves. Place them in the roasting pan.

Chop up your fresh herbs and mix together in a small bowl with 1 T olive oil and the juice of half a lemon. Set aside.

Wash your chicken and then pat dry with paper towel. Remove the neck and giblets, freeze for later (you need these for the stock! If your chicken has these removed already, that's OK). Season the inside and outside of your chicken with Kosher salt and black pepper. Place 4 cloves of garlic, all of the lemon slices and about 1/4 of the herb mixture inside the cavity.

Tie the legs together and place the wings underneath the body. Rub the chicken with olive oil and lemon juice, then rub the remaining herb mixture all over the chicken. Place chicken on top of vegetables in roasting pan.

Place roasting pan in the oven, turn oven down to 425 degrees. Roast chicken until an instant read thermometer shows a temperature of 160 degrees (or pull the leg away from the body, if the juice runs clear, it's ready. If the meat and juice is pink, it's not ready). Check your chicken half way through cooking time, if it looks too dark on top, tent lightly with foil and resume cooking.

Remove chicken from oven, let stand on a cutting board under tented tin foil for 5-10 minutes, the chicken will continue to cook as it rests, bringing the internal temperature to 165 degrees.

Carve and serve your chicken with roast vegetables and a nice green salad. Don't forget to keep the carcass for your amazing chicken stock! ;)

Enjoy and Bon Appetit!