One 4 to 5 pound chicken, rinsed and trimmed of all visible fat
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, pressed (optional)
2 lemons, 1 very thinly sliced, 1 juiced
5 sprigs rosemary, or 1 teaspoon dried
1 cup very thinly sliced onion
1 celery stalk with leaves, sliced into 1/2 inch lengths
1/2 cup Italian parsley sprigs
1 bay leaf
2 cups Chicken Stock, or good instant or low sodium canned broth
directions
Preheat the oven to 425°F
2. Pepper the chicken inside and out and rub with the oil, then the garlic.
Place half the lemon slices, 2 rosemary springs (or 1/2 teaspoon dired), half each of the onion slices, celery with leaves,
and parsley inside the cavity. Truss the chicken tightly
3. Place the chicken breast side down on a roasting rack set in a roasting pan.
Place the bay leaf and the remaining lemon, rosemary, onion, celery with leaves, and parsley under the rack.
Add 1 cup of the chicken stock.
4. Roast the chicken for 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven, baste with the pan juices, and turn the chicken over.
Pour over the lemon juice, return to the oven, and roast until the skin is crisp and brown and the juices run clear when a joint is pierced
with a fork, 30 to 40 minutes.
5. Transfer the chicken to a warm platter and allow it to rest for a few minutes for easier carving. Remove the rack from the pan. Tilt the pan and spoon off the fat. Add the remaining stock to the pan and heat on the stove top, scraping up the br
own bits, until the stock is somewhat reduced, about 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and rosemary fronds, if using.
6. Carve the chicken and discard the cavity vegetables.
Remove the pan vegetables and place them in a strainer, pressing on them with a wooden spoon over the pan to extract as much liquid as possible.
Discard the solids. Serve the chicken with the pan juices