Roasted Lemon Herb Chicken

A whole roasted chicken rubbed with herbed olive oil, stuffed with aromatics, and served with a simple pan-juice sauce

⏱ 2 hrs · medium · 🍽 serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp paprika powder
• 2 tsp pepper powder
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1–2 lemons, juiced
• Onion (for stuffing)
• Carrot, optional (for stuffing)
• Lemon (for stuffing)
• Fresh thyme (for stuffing)
• Chicken juice from baking (for sauce)
• 1/4–1/2 cup water (for sauce)
• 1 tsp salt (for sauce)
• 1 tsp pepper (for sauce)
• 1 tsp sugar (for sauce)
• 1 tsp chicken powder (for sauce)
• 1 tsp cornstarch diluted in 1 tsp water (for sauce)

Steps

1. In a bowl combine olive oil, salt, oregano, thyme, basil, paprika powder, pepper powder, sugar and lemon juice. Mix well.
2. Drizzle the mixture all over the chicken.
3. Stuff the chicken with onion, carrots, lemon and thyme.
4. Truss the chicken to keep it more juicy and hold the stuffing. This is optional.
5. Bake at 150°C for 1½–2 hours. Baste 2–3 times with the chicken juice.
6. To make the sauce: in a pot add all sauce ingredients. Mix well until the sauce thickens slightly. Adjust seasoning to taste.