Provençal Roast Chicken with Olives

1 whole chicken (3-4 lbs.)

olive oil

1 lemon

2-3 Tbsp. Victoria Taylor's Herbes de Provence Seasoning

sea salt and pepper to taste

1 cup mixed olives (from the cheese or deli section of your supermarket)

Preheat oven to 500°. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Rub entire surface with olive oil. Spread 2-3 tablespoons Herbes de Provence and salt and pepper over outside and inside of the chicken (as well as under the skin wherever you can). Roll lemon on a hard surface to release juice, cut in half and place inside chicken cavity. Place on rack in roasting pan and cook for 20 minutes. Turn the oven down to 375° and cook for an additional 40 minutes. Baste the chicken and add olives onto the rack around the chicken. If olives are too small to be caught by the rack, place some aluminum foil down on the rack and place the olives on top of the foil. Continue to cook basting every 15-20 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 170°. Take the chicken out of the oven and let it rest outside the oven for 10 minutes before carving. Garnish with the roasted olives. Serve with buttered bowtie pasta and fresh sauteed spinach or broccoli rabe.

NOTE: To get more juice from lemons, limes, and oranges, roll them on a hard surface before you cut them to extract the juice.

Serves 3-4.

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