You can roast this chicken in a covered pot or in the oven. If the latter, preheat the oven to 325° F (165° C).

1. Prepare a mixture of salt, pepper, crumbled bay leaf, and garlic slivers. Work this mixture under the skin of the breast, legs and thighs. Make slits with a sharp knife in any parts you can reach and slip a piece of bay leaf and a sliver of garlic into it.

2. Rub chicken all over with lemon juice and insert half an onion and half a lemon into the stomach cavity. Crumble some oregano over the chicken and drizzle a bit of olive oil over it as well.

3. Surround the chicken in the roasting pan with potato quarters –parboiled first for 10 minutes, if desired- whole garlic cloves (don’t be stingy, there’s nothing more succulent than roast garlic), and another lemon, quartered. Add a cup of water and roast for 2-3 hours until the meat is tender and the skin crispy. Turn once to brown the underside of the chicken and to make sure the potatoes cook evenly.

4. The chicken should emerge crispy, fragrant with herbs, lemon and garlic, and accompanied by a lemony gravy, made effortlessly. Even the lemon sections taste good.