Roast chicken with garlic recipe

This roast chicken recipe might have an extraordinary amount of garlic and certainly enough to keep any vampires at bay – but once they have been cooked, the garlic flesh becomes very sweet and tender, like a creamy, very flavoursome puree. Squeeze the cloves out and spread over the chicken flesh – then devour!

Ingredients

• 1.5kg free-range chicken
• 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 garlic bulbs, broken into individual cloves
• 60g butter, softened
• 250ml water

Method

1. In a freezer bag, add 2 cloves chopped garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, half the thyme and salt and pepper. Put the juiced lemon and thyme in the chicken cavity along with 4-5 cloves unpeeled garlic cloves, then put the chicken in the freezer bag and massage the juice and herbs into the skin. Put in the fridge for a couple of hours to marinate.
2. Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Separate the cloves from garlic bulbs, leaving peel intact, then place the cloves, in a single layer, in a roasting tin and place chicken on the garlic.
3. Pour in the water, then roast the chicken, brushing occasionally with the pan juices, for about 1 hour 20 minutes or until cooked through. You can test if the chicken is done by inserting a metal skewer into the thickest part of the meat. If the juices run clear, it’s done.