Method

1. Preheat oven to 180˚C / 350°F / Gas mark 4.
2. Wash, and peel the carrots. Cut into sticks, each about 2 inches long and ¼ inch thick and place into a roasting tin.
3. Cut the potatoes in half and add into the roasting tin.
4. Quarter the red onions and add into the roasting tin.
5. Toss the potatoes, carrots, and red onions in half the olive oil. Add the thyme, and season with salt and pepper.
6. Remove chicken from its wrapping and dispose of it straight away.
7. Remove the bag of giblets from the cavity of the bird if there are any. It should say on the packaging if giblets are included.
8. Place the bird directly into a roasting tin on top of the potatoes and vegetables with its breast-side up.
9. Pour the remaining olive oil over the chicken and season with salt, and pepper.
10. Place the roasting tin on an oven rack in the middle part of the oven.
11. Roast the chicken for 20 minutes for every pound in weight and 20 minutes over. Use a meat thermometer to check that meat is cooked. Remove the chicken from the oven and insert a clean thermometer probe into the thickest part of the chicken, between the breast and the leg. It is fully cooked when the temperature reaches 75ºC. If you don’t have a meat thermometer, check there’s no pink meat, the juices run clear when a sharp knife is inserted into the joint between the body and the thigh, and the meat is piping hot.
12. Remove chicken from oven, cover loosely with foil and let it rest for 10 minutes before carving.