Chicken Pot Roast

First rub the inside of the chicken with salt and pepper and a little butter.

Then place the onion stuck with the cloves inside the chicken and rub some butter and seasoning over the outside. Now put the chicken in a roasting tin and bake in the top half of the oven for about 30 minutes, by which time it should have developed a nice golden brown skin. Then remove it from the oven and transfer it, together with any juices, to a deep pot.

Surround the chicken with the vegetables, herbs and garlic, and pour over sufficient water to not quite cover the bird, adding the giblets as well. Bring to boiling point and simmer very gently with the lid on for about 1 hour, or until the chicken is tender.

Then remove the chicken and vegetables and cut the chicken into 4 portions; place the portions on a warmed serving dish surrounded by the vegetables, cover and keep warm. Now discard the giblets and boil the remaining stock briskly until it has reduced and the flavour has concentrated. Spoon some of the juices over the chicken and vegetables, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve. Any stock left over can be used for soup.