Frugal chicken for two (or three)

As there are normally just two of us eating, I decided to use just half a chicken. It's even cheaper if we buy a whole chicken and cut it in half. So today I've marinated the other half of a chicken so it's ready to pop in the oven tomorrow.

For my lemon and thyme chicken, I first made a herb mix. I took the lemon peel from one lemon, making sure I removed any white pith, and chopped this finely. I picked some thyme from the garden and chopped that finely (about a couple of large tablespoons). Then I added some finely chopped garlic. This was mixed together with a little lemon juice, about half an ounce of melted butter and a tablespoon of olive oil. Season with a good shake of salt and pepper.

Taking a sharp knife I pulled back the chicken skin and cut the inside membrane away so as to reveal a pocket for my herb mixture. I made a few slits in the chicken (not the skin) and rubbed in the herbs, and once added, I held the skin secure with a cocktail stick. The remaining juice of the lemon was sprinkled on the outside of the chicken. This was then seasoned with salt and pepper, and I made a couple of slits on top.

I'm marinating this over night, so hope the flavours get to mingle with the meat. I'll cook it in my lidded (dimpled dome) roasting tin tomorrow with a few chopped shallots/carrot/leeks in the bottom of the tin. It'll take around one hour with the lid on, and another half an hour with the lid off, or until it is nice and brown and crispy. I'll serve with some home grown broad beans, potatoes and cabbage. The gravy will be made from the juices.

This is a great way to make chicken go further, and gives us two hot meals - as we don't always want to use up leftover cold chicken. I should imagine the calories will be no more than 500 for the whole meal.