Garlic and zucchini roast chicken - Poulet rôti aux courgettes et à l'ail 

Inspiration for this chicken comes from my Dad who makes the best roast chicken. His trick to flavor the white meat is to add garlic cloves to the chicken breast : making an incision with a knife and sliding in a bit of garlic. That way the garlic will infuse its flavor into the chicken meat. I love stuffing chicken with a whole lemon cut in half and a bunch of herbs. The bed of vegetables with zucchini, whole garlic cloves, onions and olives turns out so flavorful as it collects all the juices from the chicken. I rub the outside of the chicken with butter and generously add pepper and salt to make the skin crispy. I usually serves this with green beans - haricots verts and plenty of sourdough bread. 

serves 6

chicken - one beautiful pasture raised beast

lemon - one

garlic - one head 

zucchini - mix of 3 yellow and 3 green 

onion - 1 red and 1 white onion

olives - a handful

white and green beans - 500g

thyme - one bunch

rosemary - one bunch 

olive oil - plenty

butter - about 50 g

Preheat the oven at 400°F / 190°C. 

Make the vegetable bed : slice the onions and the zucchini, add some olive oil, mix together. Add some olives and whole garlic cloves with the skin on - save one to flavor the chicken breast. Add the thyme.  Put the chicken on top of the vegetable bed. With a sharp knife, make some incisions in the breast and slice in the garlic clove - cut in small pieces. Using your hands, rub the chicken with butter. Add pepper and salt. Stuff the chicken with a lemon cut in half and a bunch of rosemary. 

Bake in the oven for 1 hour/ 1 hour and a half or until golden.  Just before serving, blanch the white and green beans in boiling water for 5 minutes, drain and add butter.

Serve immediately.