Native Thyme and Lemon Myrtle Roast Chicken

I hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend - it is nice to have a few days 'off'!

Today's recipe is a tasty method of adding native, zesty flavour to a good old roast chook. Most of us have our own methods for roasting chicken, so I will be fairly general about it :)

Ingredients
1 standard Roast Chicken (I prefer free-range)
3 tablespoons softened butter
2 teaspoons Native Thyme
1/2 teaspoon Ground Lemon Myrtle
1 teaspoon crushed garlic

Step One

Preheat oven to 220 degrees. Combine butter, thyme, lemon myrtle and garlic in a small bowl. Mix well.

Step Two
Use your fingers to make a pocket between the chicken breast meat and the skin. Push the herb butter mix in between the skin and the meat, pressing from the outside to spread evenly.

Step Three

Insert stuffing, if desired, into the chicken cavity. I also like to add half a lemon or some whole garlic cloves, depending on the stuffing flavour.
Place the chicken in a roasting dish. Brush lightly with melted butter or olive oil.

Step Four
Place roasting dish in the hot oven for 10 minutes, and then reduce the heat to a moderate 180 degrees. Cook for approximately 50 minutes or until juices run clear when skewered.

I like to roast a variety of vegetables in the pan with the chicken, such as sweet potato, potato, pumpkin and carrot. Add these during the cooking process, depending on the vegetable type and size of the pieces. Larger pieces of potato, for instance, can start off in the pan with the chicken. Pumpkin should be added half-way, unless they are very large pieces.

Step Five

Cut chicken into portions and serve with vegetables.