Ingredients

• 2 carrots
• cut into chunks
• 2 celery stalks
• trimmed
• cut into chunks
• 1 onion
• cut into six
• 1 x 2kg/4½lb whole chicken
• ½ lemon
• cut into quarters
• small bunch fresh mixed herbs (sage
• thyme and rosemary)
• dash vegetable oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• potatoes and roasted vegetables
• to serve
• 275ml/½ pint chicken stock
• 30g/1¼oz butter
• 1 tbsp plain flour

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 140C/120C Fan/Gas 1.
• Put the carrots
• celery and onion in a roasting tray and place the chicken on top. Stuff the cavity of the chicken with the lemon and herbs
• then drizzle with the oil
• rubbing it into the skin. Season
• to taste
• with salt and pepper.
• Roast the chicken for 3 hours
• basting the skin with the juices halfway through. Increase the oven temperature to its highest setting and continue to roast the chicken for 5-10 minutes to crisp up the skin. Remove it from the roasting tray and check it is cooked through (see tips)
• then set aside on a platter to rest for 10-15 minutes. Reserve the vegetables and cooking juices in the roasting tray.
• Meanwhile
• for the gravy
• strain the reserved vegetables and cooking juices through a fine sieve into a saucepan
• squeezing the vegetables with the back of a wooden spoon to extract maximum flavour. Add the stock to the pan and bring to the boil.
• Put the roasting tray over a low heat and add the butter. As the butter melts
• scrape up any burned bits from the bottom of the tray using a wooden spoon. Whisk in the flour until it forms a paste.
• Gradually pour the hot roasting juices and stock back into the roasting tray
• whisking after each addition
• until all the liquid is incorporated and the gravy has thickened. Season with a little salt. Heat until just bubbling
• then continue to cook the gravy
• stirring well
• for 5 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt.
• Strain the gravy through a sieve into a serving jug. Keep warm. Just before serving
• stir any juices released by the rested chicken in to the gravy.
• To serve
• carve the roast chicken at the table and serve with roasted vegetables and potatoes. Drizzle with the gravy.