Prep: 20 minutes

Cook: 1 ½ hours

Stand: 10 minutes

Serves: 4

2 ½ - 3 lb. chicken
3 tbsps. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 lemons
1 large bunch of fresh thyme
1 cup dry cured black olives
4 whole heads garlic
½ cup full bodied red wine
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Rub the skin with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt inside and out. Put breast side down in a roasting pan.

Slice the lemons crosswise in a series of parallel slashes – leaving them attached at the base. Put half the thyme and one of the lemons inside the cavity, and push more thyme between the legs and underneath the bird. Push the olives under the bird. Add remaining lemon to the pan.

Slice a “lid” off the top of each garlic head. Drizzle 1 tsp. olive oil over each one and replace the “lids.” Brush the remaining oil over the chicken and lemon.

Roast the chicken, breast side down, in a preheated oven at 425 degrees for 40 minutes. Turn the bird on its back, put the prepared garlic heads underneath, and roast for a further 35-40 minutes until golden brown.  Remove the chicken, garlic and olives from the pan and let stand for 8-10 minutes until ready to serve.

To make a sauce, mash 3 of the softest garlic cloves into the wine, cooking juices and sediment in the roasting pan. Stir over moderate heat for 3 minutes then serve with the chicken.