Alastair Hendy's Pot Roast Lemon Chicken with Roasted Onion Salad

1. Choose a casserole that will fit the bird and onions snugly – the bird can perch on top of the vegetables. Preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7.
2. Rub the chicken with 2 tbsp olive oil, salt, pepper and some of the thyme leaves pulled from their stems.
3. Put the onions and garlic in the pot with 1 tbsp olive oil, season with salt, pepper and thyme leaves as for the chicken, tumbling everything together to coat.
4. Juice two lemon quarters (set the juice aside for serving) and stick the spent lemon pieces inside the bird, along with a good tuft of thyme. Sit the bird on top of the onions and squeeze over the remaining lemon, adding the squeezed bits to the pot.
5. Roast uncovered for 30 minutes, then cover, turn the temperature down to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and roast for a further 30 minutes or until the juices run clear. Leave to rest in the pot for 15 minutes before carving.

To serve Toss the onions and garlic with the salad leaves, some of the pot juices and reserved lemon juice, and serve with the chicken. Eat with good bread. Pop the garlic from its husks as you eat.