1 whole 3-4 lb chicken
3 T olive oil
1 tsp thyme or rosemary or marjoram or oregano or sage or combination
6 small shallots, sliced
1/2 cup red wine
1 T honey
Preheat oven to 500 F. Rinse and pat the chicken dry. Season inside and out with a little salt. Place the chicken, breast side down, on a rack in a roasting pan, and put the chicken in the oven. Blend together the olive oil and herbs. After 20 minutes, brush some olive oil mixture over the chicken, then sprinkle freshly ground pepper over, then turn the chicken breast side up. Brush more olive oil mixture over the chicken, sprinkle with more freshly ground pepper, and continue roasting. After 8 minutes or so, baste the chicken with olive oil pan drippings. The chicken breast should be beginning to brown. Turn the oven heat down to 325, and add the sliced shallots to the pan drippings. After 8 minutes, baste again. Roast until an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 160 F. This should take a little under one hour from beginning to end.
Before removing the chicken from the pan, tip the pan so that the juices from the chicken’s cavity run into the pan. Those juices should be clear. If they are red, roast another 5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and onto a platter for carving, but let the chicken rest 5 minutes before carving. While it is resting, pour the pan drippings into a gravy separator, pouring off as much of the fat as is possible. Reheat the pan drippings, making sure that the shallots are included, and add the red wine and honey to the drippings. The pan drippings can be served with the chicken as is, or make it into a gravy to pass with the chicken.
