Roast Chicken

Delicious Roast Chicken
1 whole chicken (approx. 3-4 pounds)
1 lemon
1 yellow onion, chopped or 2-3 shallots, peeled and coarsely chopped
3-4 large carrots, coarsely chopped
1-2 sweet potatoes, scrubbed and coarsely chopped and/or any additional vegetables such as those mentioned above
1/2 cup organic butter, melted
2-3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
Himalayan or sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove chicken giblets (you can save these in the freezer and keep them to add to giblet gravy (or they make a nice nutritious treat for your dog, if you have one). Wash the chicken, inside and out, in cold water. Pat completely dry with a towel. Sprinkle the outside and the inside of the chicken with salt and pepper. Use a pastry brush or a spoon to coat the breast with the melted butter and then sprinkle with more salt and pepper.

Slice lemon in half and place it inside the chicken. You can leave the cavity open, or you can close it with toothpicks and then do a simple truss by tying the legs together with kitchen string

Place the veggies in your roasting pan, sprinkle with salt, and pour the stock over them. Put the chicken in the roasting pan breast-side-down and cook for 30 minutes. Then turn the chicken so that it is breast side up. Try not to puncture the skin while turning. If the vegetables look dry, drizzle with olive oil, pour in some more stock or add a little water. Cook for another 30 minutes, and then turn the oven up to 400°F and cook for 20 minutes more, or until the skin is nicely browned and the juices run clear when a knife or toothpick is inserted between a thigh and leg. Serve the chicken and the vegetables with the pan juices spooned over them.

Remember not to discard your chicken bones- save them in the freezer to make your own stock.