Mediterranean Roast Chicken with Beans and Olives

• Olive oil
• 1 head of garlic, halved widthways
• 6 sprigs of thyme
• 4 sprigs of rosemary
• 1 bay leaf
• 2x 400g tins of cherry tomatoes
• 500ml chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 140g green olives, pitted
• 1 lemon, zested and halved
• 1x 400g tin of cannellini beans, drained
• 160g brined artichokes
• 1 whole free-range chicken
• 1 lemon, zested and halved
• 100g butter
• Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 180°C (160° fan-assisted).

To prepare the sauce, heat the Le Creuset 30cm Signature Skillet with a drizzle of olive oil and fry the garlic flat cut side down until golden. Add the herbs and allow them to release their flavour. Add both tins of tomatoes and the stock and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes and season well with salt and pepper. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar to cut through the acidity.

Turn off the heat and add the lemon zest and the olives. Allow to cool.

To prepare the chicken, stuff the cavity with the zested lemon half. Gently lift the skin and stuff the butter under the skin over the breast of the chicken.Close the skin and season generously with salt - this will yield crispy skin and succulent chicken breast.

Once the sauce is cool, place the chicken in the sauce and roast in the oven for 1 hour or until cooked through. After 70 minutes of the cooking time has passed, place the cannellini beans and artichokes in the sauce and continue to roast for 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven, carve, and serve hot in the sauce with crusty bread if desired.