Need something simple for dinner? Try this easy-to-make slow-roast chicken with garlic, lemon and sage...

This recipe inspired by a friend and colleague, Camilla Comins, who has just opened The Table restaurant. With a surplus of lemons from our tree, I turned to Camilla's mum's cookbook – The Farm Kitchen – for slow-roast chicken with garlic, lemon and sage. I only had four chicken thighs not eight and the garden provided thyme, not sage, but it was still a deliciously satisfying supper in the style of that good, honest, country cooking Camilla and her family do so well.

What You Need

4 free-range chicken thighs
1 large lemon, cut into quarters
5 garlic cloves, unpeeled
3 sprigs thyme
A half cup of wine
Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 150C. Place the chicken in a baking dish, tuck the lemon pieces, garlic and thyme around the chicken and pour over the wine. Season the chicken well, cover with foil and roast on the bottom rack for 40 minutes. Turn up the heat to 200C and roast for 20 minutes or until the skin is golden and crisp.

Tip: If you have the chance to make this ahead, remove the chicken pieces and squeeze the lemons and roasted garlic cloves into the juices, discarding any peels and skin. Refrigerate the juices and later spoon off any solidified fat. Reheat the chicken pieces in the oven along with the fat-free garlicky lemon gravy and serve with sweet buttery carrots with lots of salt and pepper.