Lemon Herb Chicken With Roast Potatoes

I know everyone thinks they know how to roast a chicken, but as this the best recipe for a roast chicken in the whole world, i thought i'd share it with you. I have a chicken brick that i often cook this in, as it comes out moist and juicy with a miraculously crisp skin.

• Ready In: 1 hr 50 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 (1 1/2kg)  chicken
• 1  large lemon
• 1  large sage sprig
• 1  large rosemary sprig
• 25  g butter, at room temperature
• 2  garlic cloves, crushed
• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• 750  g floury potatoes
•  sea salt
•  fresh ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade. Snip any strings that are binding the chicken legs, then wip inside the cavity with kitchen paper and season. Cut the lemon into 5 or 6 pieces and push them into the cavity with the sage and rosemary sprigs.
2. Mix together the butter and garlic with some salt and pepper. Loosen the skin on the breast then, using your fingers, spread the butter between the flesh and the skin. Pull the skin back into place. Place the bird in a large roasting tin and brush all over with a little oil and a sprinkling of coarse salt. Roast for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, peel and cube the potatoes then cook in a pan of boiling water for exactly 5 minutes. Drain in a colander then shake vigorously to fluff up the outside of the potatoes - this helps them a lovely, crunchy finish when they are roasted.
4. Open the oven and quickly toss the potatoes into the pan, shaking to coat them in the buttery chicken juices. Return to the oven for 1 hour, without turning or poking until the chicken is cooked through and golden and the potatoes are crunchy and golden on the outside and fluffy and floury on the inside. Cut the chicken into quarters and serve with the pan juices and the roasties.