This one is one of our favorites. It is so simple and
truly produces a wonderful chicken.                        

 Roast
Chicken with Lemon

Recipe By     : Marcella Hazan, The Second
Classic Italian Cookbook 
Serving Size  : 4    Preparation
Time :1:40 
Categories    : Main Dishes

  Amount  Measure      
Ingredient — Preparation Method 
——–  ———— 
——————————– 
   1                   
Chicken (1.1 kg.), Whole — (39 ounces) 
                       
Salt 
                       
Black Pepper, Freshly Ground 
   2     
Whole         Lemons

1)  Wash the chicken thoroughly in cold water, both inside
and out.  Remove all the bits of fat hanging loose.  Let the chicken
sit for about 10 minutes on a slightly tilted dish, until all the water has
drained out of its cavity.  Dry it well internally and externally with
kitchen paper.

2)  Sprinkle a liberal amount of salt and freshly ground
pepper on the chicken, rubbing it into all its surfaces and into its interior,
using your fingertips.

3)  Rinse the lemons in cold water and dry them off with
kitchen paper.  The lemons can also be peeled.  Soften them up
gently, pressing them between your two palms, and rolling them back and forth a
few times.  Perforate each lemon in at least twenty places with a trussing
needle or a round toothpick.

4)  Place both lemons in the chicken’s cavity.  Close
up the opening with toothpicks or trussing needle and string.  Run a
string from one leg to the other, tying it at both knuckle ends.  Do not
pull the legs tightly together; leave them in their natural position.  The
chicken swells while it cooks and the string is only to keep the thighs from
spreading and streching and splitting the skin at the inner folds.

5)  Put the chicken in a roasting tin, breast downwards. 
Do not add cooking fat of any kind.  This bird is self-basting, so it
won’t stick to the pan.  Place it in the upper third of an oven preheated
to 180° C (350° F).

6)  After 25 minutes, turn the chicken so that the breast
is facing up.  Be careful not to break the skin.

7)  Cook for another 30 minutes, then raise the heat to 200°
C (400° F) and cook for an additional 20 minutes.

8)  Bring it whole to the table, leaving the lemons inside. 
Serve it with all the juices that run out.