Serves 4

Roast chicken recipe

rate this recipe Thanks for rating!

Ready in about 11/2 hours

1.4kg corn-fed chicken
1 small onion
1 lemon, cut into 4 wedges
6 fresh thyme sprigs
2 tbsp olive oil

Add to my cookbook

Print this recipe

Email a friend

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6. If you want to stuff the chicken, do so now.
2. Put the chicken in a roasting tin. Peel the onion, halve and push inside the chicken (in the hole between the legs), with the lemon and 4 sprigs of the thyme. Drizzle the olive oil over the chicken and sprinkle on some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Put the remaining thyme sprigs on top.
3. Put the chicken into the hot oven and roast for about 1 hour 20 minutes. (If your chicken is a different weight, you can work out the timings: allow 20 minutes per 500g, plus an extra 20 minutes. If you are stuffing the chicken, weigh and calculate the cooking time after you’ve stuffed it.) Baste the chicken after 40 minutes to keep the meat moist: ask an adult to drizzle the chicken with the juices in the roasting pan. When cooked, ask an adult to lift the chicken onto a serving dish. Check that it is cooked through.
4. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes, then ask an adult to carve it.

Chef's tip

Wash your hands, tie back long hair and put on an apron. Check the shelves in the oven – one should be low down so there’s room in the middle of the oven to fit the chicken, and the other near the top to roast the potatoes. Be careful not to wipe hands that have been touching the raw chicken over any surfaces. If you do, clean the surfaces straightaway. As soon as you are finished, wash your hands thoroughly with hot water and antibacterial soap.

Other recipes by Felicity Barnum Bobb

Other British recipes

Fabulously simple chocolate fudge cake recipe

Fish pie recipe

Chocolate yule log recipe

Marcus Wareing's braised lamb shanks recipe

Sticky toffee pudding recipe

Braised lamb shanks with lemon, garlic and parsley recipe

Gooseberry jam recipe

Tuna fish cakes recipe

Quick cottage pie recipe

Perfect pancakes recipe

BBQ recipes

Picnic dishes

Fast family food

In This Month's Issue

This month's cover dish

Rum-soaked baked peaches with Jamaican ginger cake recipe

Try these new recipes:

Summer pudding stacks recipe

Toffee fudge and strawberry cheesecake recipe

Breast of lamb stuffed with feta and mint recipe

Oriental mushroom and pak choi stir-fry recipe

Chicken and chilli chocolate stew recipe

Baked honeycomb Alaska recipe

Lamb and apricots recipe

Lamb chops with avocado salsa recipe

Roasted shallot, mushroom and smoked sausage tart recipe

Chilli crab and prawn tarts recipe

Latest User Recipes

Your comments

We'd love to hear what you think. Register or sign in to leave your comments.

August issue on sale 3 July

50 easy summer recipes... Brilliant no-cook suppers... Bill Granger's easy Indian... Gordon Ramsay's protégé, Jason Atherton of Maze Grill, cooks perfect steak... Foodie's guide to the A1...

Win a Belling range cooker

There are four to be won, each worth £1,199 each.

Buy 3 issues of delicious. for just £1

At last, the subscription offer of your dreams...