Sunday family dinners at my grandparents’ house was a weekly tradition. Even though I’m living far away from family now, I like to make Sunday dinners special. And the bonus of this one is that it gives lots of extra bonuses: leftover chicken for use in all sorts of things (for example my leftover chicken salad), bones that can be used for delicious homemade chicken stock, which can then be used to make tastier rice or easy homemade soups (like my butternut squash soup).

Ingredients:

• 1 whole organic, cage free chicken (approx 3-4lbs)
• freshly ground sea salt and black pepper
• 1 lemon, quartered
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• sprig of fresh rosemary
• 2-3 leeks, washed carefully and sliced into rounds

Preheat oven to 375°F. Clean off chicken, and stuff with the lemon quarters, garlic cloves and rosemary. Pat with fresh ground sea salt and black pepper, and place chicken in a roasting pan surrounded by chopped leeks. Add water to pan to about ¼-½ inch up the side of pan (my trick to make sure it’s always juicy). Cover pan with aluminum foil (shiny side down) and put in oven for about an hour (longer if it’s a larger bird).

Remove foil and spoon some of the juices from the pan over the bird. Put back in oven to brown – approx 10-20 minutes. Test chicken to see if it’s done with a knife (liquid should run clear) or with the leg shake test.