Ingredients

2 pounds chicken, preferably organic
1 large lemon
8 slices prosciutto or Parma ham, thinly sliced
1 to 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 good handfuls fresh thyme, leaves picked and finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces softened butter
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 large celeriac, peeled

Directions

Preheat the oven and an appropriately sized roasting
tray to 425 degrees F. Wash your chicken inside and out and pat dry with kitchen paper. Using your fingers,
part the breast skin from the breast meat. It's important to try to push your hand gently down the breast,
being careful not to rip the skin. With a peeler, remove and chop the fragrant yellow skin of the lemon,
keeping the peeled lemon to one side. Chop prosciutto and add to the bowl with the lemon skin, garlic and
thyme. Season, with salt and pepper and then mix it all into the butter. Push this into the space you have

made between the meat and the skin -- rub and massage any that's left over in and around the bird. It's all
tasty stuff. I could tell you to tie the chicken up but I've decided it's a palaver and not worth it in this
case. Slash the thigh meat to allow the heat to penetrate a little more, which makes it taste better. Cut
the peeled lemon in half and push it into the cavity. Then put chicken in the hot roasting tray and roast in
the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking, parboil the potatoes in salted water for 10 minutes and drain. Cut the celeriac
into irregular chunks around the same size as the potatoes. Remove the chicken from the oven, by which time
the tasty butter will have melted, flavored and cooked out of the chicken into the bottom of the tray,
awaiting your potatoes and celeriac. Normally I put a fork into the cavity of the chicken and lift it off of
the tray for 20 seconds while I toss and coat the vegetables in the butter. Put the chicken back on top of
the vegetables and cook for around 40 minutes. Leave to stand for 10 minutes. Once the meat and vegetables
have been removed, a little light gravy can be made in the tray with a splash of wine and stock, a little
simmering and scraping.