Julia Child's Lemon and Herb Roast Chicken

I made some adaptations (of course :)) and it came out tender, flavorful (very much!), and beautiful. I loved the roasted sweet potatoes the best!

Ingredients:

1 fine, fresh 4 lb chicken (Can't you just hear Julia saying this?)

2 sweet potatoes

2 carrots (I used a handful of baby carrots)

3 celery stalks

1 red onion

fresh thyme and sage

dried herbes de Provence

salt and pepper

red pepper flakes

2 tbsp butter, softened

1 lemon

2 large garlic cloves

olive oil for drizzling

1/2 cup water

Directions:

Rinse the chicken thoroughly, inside and out, under warm water, then dry it with paper towels. Remove any lumps of fat from inside the cavity near the tail opening.

Cut all vegetables into equally sized chunks. Place in roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil. Salt and pepper. Toss with hands and push to outsides of the pan.

Place chicken in center of roasting pan.  Season the inside with salt and pepper. Squeeze half a lemon inside and stuff with the fresh thyme and sage as well as the garlic and the lemon half that you just squeezed.

In a small bowl, combine the softened butter, dried herbs de Provence, more salt and pepper, and the juice of the other half of lemon. Rub all over the chicken, top and sides. Sprinkle red pepper flakes and drizzle with olive oil. Add half a cup of water to the pan.

Put chicken in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes at 425, then remove. Use any accumulated juices to baste chicken and vegetables.

Reduce temperature to 350 and roast chicken for approximately one hour more. Check chicken every 20 minutes. Baste each time. If chicken browns too quickly, tent with foil. When juices run clear upon inserting a knife into the hip joint, remove chicken and rest for 10 minutes before carving.