Todpop mentioned on a couple of times this recipe. It-never-fails!, she assured. As always, Todpop was right. The chicken is absolutely delicious, and this dish is highly recommendable for a special occasion roast. You might want to take into consideration that garlic, sage and butter will leave a bit of a stink in the kitchen.

Sara’s Roast Chicken with Sage and Garlic

Ingredients 

• 1 chicken
• 1 lemon
• 22 fresh sage leaves
• 3 cloves garlic
• 6 tbsp. unsalted butter,  at room temperature
•  Salt
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• Ground black pepper, to taste
• 8 sprigs parsley
• 2 small onions, quartered
• 2 carrots, cut into 5cm pieces
• Fleur de sel

Methods

1. Heat oven to 200°C. Rinse the chicken under cold water; pat dry with paper towels. Peel the lemon, avoiding white pith. Finely chop the lemon peel, sage, and garlic together; place in a bowl. Add butter and 1 table spoon of  salt. Stir to combine. Quarter the peeled lemon; set aside.

2. Using your fingers and a small, sharp knife, loosen skin of chicken from breasts and thighs. Slip butter mixture between skin and flesh, spreading it evenly. Rub skin with oil; season skin and cavity with salt and pepper to taste. Stuff with quartered lemon, parsley, and 1 quartered onion. Tie legs together with kitchen twine, if you like.

3. Put remaining quartered onion and carrots into center of roasting pan and place chicken on top of them. Roast for 20 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 180˚. Continue roasting for about 1 hour more. Transfer the chicken to a platter; sprinkle with fleur de sel; let rest for 10 minutes before carving.