Lemon Basil Roast Chicken

Last weekend I decided to take a drive out to Spier wine farm to get some pasture reared chicken. I was a bit dissapointed to find out they don't sell frozen or fresh chicken in their deli (I could however order it online and have it delivered) but I did go away with a good supply of pasture reared chicken eggs and a whole cooked bird. Had my chicken supplies delivered earlier this week..

So this is my first ever home cooked pasture reared chicken... and damn was it good!

Ingredients:

1 whole bird
big handful of fresh basil
garlic cloves
olive oil
2 lemons
lemon pepper
salt

 Chop the basil and garlic up.. here's the fun part, gently seperate the breast skin from the meat and shove about 3/4 of the garlic and basil mixture under the skin spreading it out nice and evenly

chop the lemons up in quarters and place that in the cavity of the chicken

mix some olive oil with the remainding basil and garlic mixture and rub that all over the chicken

season the chicken the salt and lemon pepper

Line a racked oven dish with foil and place the chicken on the rack. This is so the chicken doesn't end up doing breast stroke through chicken fat/drippings.

Cooking time will vary depending on the size of the bird. Leave it in at 200degrees for an hour or so. To check if it's cooked, insert a skewer into the thickest part til it reaches the bone, the juices must run clear, if it's bloody, your bird aint cooked.

If you're satisfied that it's cooked, take it out and give it a good baste with the juices from the bottom of the pan and put it under the grill for a few minutes, careful not to burn it.

When it's done, let it rest for 15 minutes before cutting it up.

Bon appetite!