Michel Roux's Roast Chicken with Herb Butter

Place the new potatoes into the bottom of a ovenproof dish. Crush the head of garlic with your hand to separate the cloves. Add the garlic cloves to the dish along with the potatoes. 

Take your lemon and herb butter and stir through the breadcrumbs. Transfer the butter to a piping bag. 

Remove the heart, liver and gizzards from the inside of the chicken. Trim off any sinew of the innards and place them in the dish.  Make a slit in the neck of the chicken and remove the wind pipe and digestive track. Next carefully slip your fingers under the skin and lift the skin away from the breast and legs by sliding fingers between skin and meat. Take the pipping bag filled with the butter and squeeze this under the skin in an even layer all over the breast, legs and thighs. Massage it down so that you have an even layer of butter. 

You should have a little left and this can go into the cavity. Truss the chicken with some butchers string to keep the legs and head in place. Rub the chicken with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and place on top of the potatoes. Pour over the white wine and chicken stock and place the dish

Cook at 220°C for  50 mins, reduce heat to 180°C and continue to baste every 10 minutes. Cook for 45mins in total. 

Remove the chicken from the oven and tip out any juices from the cavity. 

Cover the chicken with foil and leave to rest for 20 minutes before serving. Carve the chicken at the table and serve with the flavourful potatoes cooked in all those buttery juices.