recipe is : western oriental roast chicken

ok, i've something to confess. throughout all my years of cooking, i've never, i repeat, never roasted a whole chicken before. this is my first attempt. glad it turned out great.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, about 2 kgs, cavity thoroughly cleared and cleaned
2 tbsp split green beans, soaked at least 4 hours or overnight
handful of dried chestnuts, soaked at least 4 hours or overnight
2 sprigs rosemary
3 stalks spring onion
1 sprig sage
5 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
3 tbsp herb oil (recipe is here)
2 carrots, cut into big chunks
3 onions, skinned
4 stalks celery leaves, ends trimmed
6 big potatoes, peeled and cut into huge chunks
brussel sprouts (or any greens of your choice)
garlic butter

Method

boil the split green beans and chestnuts in salted water for 20 minutes or until just tender. drain and set aside

preheat the oven to 180 C. arrange the rack so that the roasting pan will sit in the middle of the oven

use kitchen napkins to pat dry the chicken and carefully separate the skin of the chicken away from the flesh at the the breast area and at as much surface of the skin as possible. rub the salt into the cavity and under skin of the chicken. rub 1 tbsp of the herb oil into the cavity and 1 tbsp herb oil under the skin of the chicken. spoon the split green beans and as much of the chestnuts as possible into the cavity of the chicken. add 3 cloves of garlic, the spring onions, a sprig of rosemary and some sage leaves into the cavity. put one clove of garlic on each breast area under the skin. add the sprig of rosemary under the skin as well. rub the dark soya sauce all over on the outside of the chicken skin. rub the remaining tbsp of herb oil onto the skin

in a roasting pan, arrange the celery, onions and carrots so that they sit at the bottom of the pan. put the chicken on top of vegetables and if there are any remaining chestnuts, strew them around in the pan as well. roast for about 2 hours or until the juice runs clear when a skewer is pierced into the thickest part of the thigh. take out of the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before carving

while the chicken is roasting, parboil the potatoes in lightly salted water, drain and add to the roasting pan once potatoes are just cooked. a little bit of the herb oil can be used to toss the potatoes just before add to the pan

steam the brussel sprouts for about 5 minutes or until just cooked. toss in garlic butter and serve with the chicken and potatoes