Roast chicken on a bed of tomatoes

Preheat the oven to 200ºC, gas mark 6. Put the chicken into a roasting tin, squeeze the juice of ½ the lemon over it, then put both lemon halves, 3 garlic cloves and the herbs into the chicken cavity. Drizzle the chicken with 1 tbsp oil and season. Pour the wine into the tray, then roast the chicken for 30 minutes.

Take the chicken out of the oven, then reduce the temperature to 180ºC, gas mark 4. Pick the tomatoes off the vines and scatter into the tray around the chicken with the remaining garlic. Drizzle with the remaining 1 tbsp oil and season. Return to the oven and continue cooking for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked, the juices run clear and there is no pink meat.

Cover the whole tray with foil and set aside to rest for 15 minutes before carving. Serve the chicken, the tomatoes and their juices with potatoes or creamy polenta and seasonal greens, if liked.