1wholelarge brown onion, aka yellow onion, cut in quarters
1largefennel bulb, stems removed and cut in eighths, if you can't find this, sub celery or leave it out.
1whole roasting chicken, about 4 ½ to 5 pounds
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Instructions
Heat your oven to 450°F. Ensure that your oven rack is low enough to accommodate the height of the chicken in the pan without touching the top of the oven.
In a small bowl mix together the lemon zest, 1 Tablespoon of the lemon juice and oil.
Add the Herbes de Provence, minced garlic, salt, and pepper and mix well to form a paste. Add more lemon juice as needed to get a nice paste.
Remove any giblets and the neck from the chicken. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. Set the chicken on a rack in a roasting pan (for only one chicken a 9"x13" pan may be adequate.) Tuck the wings under.
Rub the herb mixture all over the chicken. And rub any remaining inside the cavity.
Put 2 onion quarters inside the chicken along with the lemon carcasses and the 4 garlic clove halves. Lay the fennel pieces and the remaining 2 onion quarters around the chicken in the roasting pan.
Tie the legs together with kitchen string. If you don't have any string, don't worry, they can just hang out; just be aware, they will spread out while cooking.
Place the chicken into the heated oven and roast for 20 minutes.
Then lower the heat to 350°F and roast for an additional 1 hour to 1 hour and 20 minutes. Your guideline is about 20 minutes per pound. You can tell if it's done when an instant read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165°F. Be sure not to let the thermometer touch any bone or gristle.
Remove from oven and let the bird sit for 15 minutes before carving.