Oven Roasted Chicken with Gravy

Ingredients

2 onions, quartered
4 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

3 sticks celery
1 whole chicken, free-range or organic, if possible
1/4 c. melted butter or ghee
1 tsp. thyme or several sprigs fresh
1 tsp. salt
4 cloves garlic, pressed
4 c. chicken stock
1/2 c. dry white wine

Instructions

Rinse and pat chicken dry. 

Blend thyme and salt together. 

Place the onions in the bottom of the roasting pan. 

Coat chicken with half of the butter or ghee, then sprinkle with half thyme/salt mixture and garlic, and place in the roasting pan, over the onions.  Arrange the carrots and celery around the chicken.   

Bake at 350 for 1 hour.  Remove the chicken from the oven, then flip the chicken.  Coat it with the remaining butter or ghee, sprinkle with remaining thyme/salt mixture and garlic. Return to oven for another hour or until juices run clear.

Cut chicken into pieces.  Place the chicken in the oven to keep warm while you're making the gravy. 

Instructions for Gravy

Pour the wine into the bottom of the roasting pan and scrape up the brown bits.  Pour the liquid and vegetables into a saucepan (or, if you're using a flame-proof roasting dish, you can use that) and bring to a boil.  Using an emulsion blender or pouring into a regular blender, puree the vegetables in the liquid. 

Serve hot over chicken pieces. 

This recipe is based on the Nourishing Traditions Roast Chicken recipe.