Preparing the Chicken

1. Dry the chicken with paper towels. Season liberally with salt and pepper all over.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Flavored Butter:

1. In a cold skillet, combine the oil, garlic and shallots. Cook on medium low heat until the shallots and garlic are golden. Combine the softened butter with the browned shallots and garlic, the lemon zest, parsley, thyme and season with salt and pepper. (If you’re using salted butter, you don’t need to add any salt.)
2. The flavored butter is totally optional. Half the time I make roast chicken without it, but when I want to make it a little more special, I like to add the flavored butter. 

Preparing the Chicken for the Oven:

1. Tie the legs of the chicken together and also tuck the wings behind the back of the bird. Stuff the cavity of the chicken with one cut up onion, garlic cloves, a cut up lemon and thyme sprigs. (I use up the lemon that I zested earlier.) This is also optional.
2. Gently spread the flavored butter under the skin, all over the breast meat and as much as you can get on the thigh meat. Brush the chicken on all sides with some oil.
3. Slice 1 large onion into thick circles and place them in the center of the baking sheet. Sprinkle some salt over the onions.
4. Place the chicken on top of the onions. Roast the chicken for about 25 minutes in the preheated oven. 

Potatoes:

1. Wash the potatoes and cut them into 1 – 1 1/2 inch pieces, leaving the skin on.
2. Place the potatoes in a medium pot and cover them with water. Bring to a boil and cook for another 3-5 minutes or so. Drain the potatoes and toss them with the shallots, also cut into 1 inch pieces, garlic, herbs, oil and salt and pepper.

Roasting the Chicken and Potatoes:

1. Add the potatoes to the hot baking sheet and spread them around the chicken. If there are any excess chicken juices on the baking sheet, drain it off before adding the potatoes.
2. Continue roasting for another 40-50 minutes or so, depending on your oven and the size of your chicken. You can mix the potatoes about halfway through, to coat them in the chicken drippings and get them to brown more evenly.
3. Sometimes the breast area skin can start to get brown too quickly. Cover it up lightly with some aluminum foil, to prevent it from getting too brown.
4. Roast the chicken until the breast meat register 165 on an instant read thermometer and the thigh meat registers 175 degrees.
5. Take out the chicken and let it rest for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, if the potatoes are not as golden as you’d like, return them to the oven and broil for a few minutes on all sides to crisp them up even more. Garnish with more fresh herbs, like parsley, thyme, dill, green onions.