INGREDIENTS:
1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken 
Kosher salt 
Freshly ground black pepper 
1 large bunch fresh thyme 
1 lemon, halved 
1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise 
2 tablespoons butter, melted 
1 Spanish onion, sliced crosswise
  1/2-inch thick
Vegetables if desired (*see below)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Remove
the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken
inside and out. Pat dry with paper towels.
In the center of a heavy-duty roasting pan,
place onion slices in two rows, touching.
Place the chicken on top of onion slices.
Liberally salt and pepper the inside of
the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the
bunch of thyme, both halves of the lemon,
and all the garlic. Brush the outside of
the chicken with the butter and sprinkle
again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs
together with kitchen string and tuck the
wing tips under the body of the chicken.

Roast the chicken for 1-1/2 hours, or
until the juices run clear when you cut
between a leg and thigh. Breast temperature
should read 180 degrees and the thigh 190.

Serves 3 to 4

*To roast vegetables with the chicken, place
 8 whole new red potatoes, 4 carrots, cut 
 diagonally into quarters, and add them with
 the onions. Place the chicken on top of the
 vegetable for roasting.