Lemon Roast Chicken And Potatoes - cooking recipe

Ingredients

4 -5 large potatoes (leave the skins on, the flavour is fabulous)
2 tablespoons grainy mustard
2 lemons, juice of (save the squeezed lemon halves)
1 tablespoon dried oregano (I used thyme) or 1 tablespoon dried thyme, crumbled (I used thyme)
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 (3 lb) roasting chickens, about 3 pounds
2 onions, peeled and cut into wedges
2 bay leaves
6 garlic cloves, with skins left on
1/2 cup white wine

Preparation

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F.
Halve the potatoes lengthwise and then cut them into three or four wedges, so that they look like chips. I used Charlotte fingerling potatoes and they were perfect, cut into quarters.
Throw these into a shallow roaster along with the onion wedges and the chicken.
Mix together the mustard, lemon juice, oregano (or thyme) and olive oil to make a marinade.
Pour over the chicken, potatoes and onions. Add the bay leaves and garlic.
Season with salt and pepper (remembering the inside of the chicken as well as the outside)
Rub the marinade in all over the surface of the chicken and shuffling the potatoes and onions around so that they are well coated.
Put the reserved lemon halves inside the chicken.
Gently pour a cup of warm water into the pan, being careful not to wash any of the marinade off of the chicken or potatoes.
Roast for one hour. At this point the chicken should be starting to brown.
Pour the wine over the top and turn the potatoes and onions.
Roast for another hour, turning the chicken when it is well browned on top. Check that the potatoes are still in a little liquid, you don't want them to go dry. If they seem a bit dry add a little more hot water.
When it is done the chicken will be golden brown and juicy and cooked through and the potatoes will be meltingly tender, with a few crisp edges. There should be a little sauce left in the roaster to serve spooned over the chicken and potatoes, but if there isn't just add a bit of hot water to the dish and scrape up the tasty bits from the bottom to make more sauce.
Serve to a very lucky family that will be scrambling for more! If this doesn't soon become your favourite way to roast chicken I'll be a monkey's uncle!