Poulet menager (homestyle family roast chicken) with potatoes, onion, garlic and tomatoes

Peel, wash and quarter the potatoes. Halve the onions and slice thinly. Peel the shallot, wash parsley, thyme and bay leaf, and cut the untidy end off about eight unpeeled garlic cloves.

Season inside the chicken with salt and plenty of lemon pepper; fill with folded parsley, thyme, one or two garlic cloves and shallot.

Truss with a long string: wrap it around each leg, cross it below the breast, turn the chicken over, pass it under the wings in a crisscross and tie off.

Cut off the gland at the end of the tail, which carries a bitter substance.

Dry the raw potatoes in a towel and arrange them around the chicken in a roasting pan.

Season with salt and lemon pepper, pour over oil and add a piece of butter. Set the chicken on its side and season the exposed leg.

Roast at 200 C on one side for 15 minutes.

Add the garlic cloves, mix the potatoes, turn the chicken onto its other side and roast another 15 minutes.

Turn the chicken upright, add the onions and tomatoes (added late so they do not burn) and coat them in the juices; roast another 25 minutes, or 30 for more color.

Carve at the table and serve with the potatoes, garlic, onions and juices.