Recipe: Lemon Roast Chicken and Best Roast Potatoes

LEMON ROAST CHICKEN AND BEST ROAST POTATOES

FOR THE CHICKEN:
1 large chicken
3 or 4 strips of bacon
2 lemons, 1 for squeezing with 1 slice removed and 1 cut into chunks
Fresh rosemary, sage and tarragon sprigs
Olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
FOR THE POTATOES:
8 to 10 small potatoes, peeled
1 head of garlic, separated into cloves and peeled, or about 6 to 10 whole peeled garlic cloves
2 big sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into chunks

TO PREPARE THE CHICKEN:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Check weight of chicken and calculate cooking time at 20 minutes per pound, plus an additional 20 minutes.

Put chicken in large roasting pan. Drape bacon over chicken breast. Place lemon slice on top and stick herbs between joints and in breast cavity. Drizzle with oil and lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Slap in the oven. Set timer.

TO PREPARE THE POTATOES:
In pot of water, boil small potatoes 10 minutes. Drain. Rough surfaces with fork to aid crisping.

Fifty minutes before chicken is done, add all potatoes, lemon chunks and garlic to pan. Drizzle potatoes with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Put back in oven.

When cooking time is almost up, pierce bird's thigh with knife to check whether it's done. Juices must run clear, not pink. Remove chicken to platter or cutting board and let rest 10-15 minutes.

Leave potatoes in the pan and turn them. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees F to crisp potatoes, 10-15 minutes. Remove potatoes and place on platter.

Skim fat from surface of pan juices. Add 2 cups water and place roasting pan on stove. Boil hard 3-4 minutes, stirring and scraping bits from pan. Season to taste. Remove lemons, if desired.

TO SERVE:
Carve chicken and serve with roasted potatoes and pan juices.

Serves 8
Adapted from source: Sam Stern's Cooking Up a Storm: The Teen Survival Cookbook