This recipe is adapted from Williams-Sonoma Cooking at Home. Their recipe calls for rosemary, thyme and russet potatoes. I used red potatoes and a turkey herb mixture. It lends itself well to flexibility. I'll be sharing what I did.

I used a free range chicken and it was delicious. My husband couldn't believe how moist and tender the chicken was the day after when we ate the leftovers. And my normally vegetarian 3 year old scarfed down two legs and a thigh. We might be making this dish more often!

 
Ingredients:
1 chicken, about 3 1/2 lbs (giblets removed)
1 lemon, halved
8 small red potatoes (or 4 russet potatoes), peeled and cut into 3-inch cubes
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 teaspoons mixed herbs (thyme, rosemary, etc.)
1/2 cup chicken broth
salt and ground pepper

You can also add large chunks of carrot and small whole cipollini onions to the pan along with the potatoes.

Preheat oven to 350*F.

Trim any visible fat from the chicken and pat it dry.


Rub the chicken inside and out with the cut sides of the lemon halves. I squeezed the juice from it a little before rubbing the lemon. Place the lemon halves inside the body cavity along with some mixed herbs. Truss the chicken. 
 

Place the chicken on its side in a roasting pan and surround with the potatoes.
 

In a small pan, melt the butter and stir in the oil. Brush the butter mixture evenly over the chicken and potatoes and then sprinkle with the dried herbs.
 

Place the chicken in the oven and roast for 30 minutes. Turn the bird so it rests on its opposite side. Add the broth to the pan and baste the chicken with the pan juices. Roast for another 30 minutes. Turn the chicken breast side up, baste with the pan juices, and season with salt and pepper. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh away from the bone registers 170*F, 20-30 minutes longer. (My bird took twice as long to cook most likely because of my inefficient oven and the larger size of my bird).

Transfer the chicken to a warmed platter and surround with the potatoes. Tent with aluminum foil (I tented it and let it cook longer in the oven because it wasn't finished cooking) and let rest for 10 minutes before carving. Serve the pan juices in a warmed bowl on the side.

Makes 4 servings. Prep time: 30 minutes.