Italian Roast Chicken

Ingredients

• 1.5kg whole chicken  
• 1 unwaxed lemon, cut in half 
• 4 sprigs rosemary 
• 3 leeks, washed and trimmed 
• 2 red peppers 
• 1 orange pepper 
• 1 yellow pepper 
• 100g pitted dry-packed black olives 
• 4 tbsp olive oil 
• Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to serve 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200^oC or follow the Smeg automatic cooking programme. 
2. Untruss the chicken and sit it in a roasting tray. Place the lemon halves and two of the rosemary sprigs into the chicken’s cavity. 
3. Wash and trim the leeks, cut each into three chunks, then slice lengthways and add to the tray.
4. Remove the core and seeds of the peppers and slice them into strips, following their natural curves and ridges, and add these to the tin. 
5. Tumble in the olives, and pour the olive oil over the vegetables and a little over the chicken, too.
6. Add the remaining rosemary sprigs to the vegetables, along with some sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
7. Using a couple of spoons or spatulas, gently toss the vegetables about to help coat them with the oil and make sure everything’s well coated. 
8. Sprinkle some sea salt flakes over the chicken and roast in the oven for about 1-1¼ hours.
9. The chicken should be cooked through, and its juices running clear when you cut into the flesh with a small sharp knife at the thickest part of the thigh joint.
10. The vegetables should be tender by now, too, and some of the leeks will be a scorched light-brown in parts. 
11. Lift the chicken onto a carving board and, while it rests (for about 10 minutes) pop the pan of veg back in the oven, switching the oven off as you do so. 
12. Cut the chicken up chunkily, transferring the pieces to a large warmed platter.
13. Now take the pan back out of the oven and, with a slotted spoon or spatula, remove the vegetables and place on a large platter.
14. Pour over the delicious juices that have collected in the pan and serve immediately.