- 3 heads garlic
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh lemon thyme or chopped fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 (3 pound) whole broiler-fryer chicken
- 1 medium onion, cut into wedges
- 2 cups low-fat half-and-half
- 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh lemon thyme or chopped fresh thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- Fresh thyme sprigs (optional)
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Peel away outer papery leaves from heads of garlic, leaving skin of garlic cloves intact. Separate the cloves. (You should have about 40 cloves.) Peel and mince four of the cloves. Set aside remaining garlic cloves.
- In a small bowl combine minced garlic with 1 tablespoon of the extra-virgin olive oil, the 1 tablespoon chopped lemon thyme, the cracked black pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Rub minced garlic mixture over chicken.
- Place six garlic cloves into the cavity of the chicken. Tie legs to tail. Use 100% cotton string. Twist wing tips under back. Place onion wedges and remaining garlic cloves in the bottom of a shallow roasting pan. Drizzle onion and garlic with remaining olive oil.
- Place chicken, breast side up, on top of the onion wedges and garlic cloves in roasting pan. Insert meat thermometer into center of an inside thigh muscle. Do not allow thermometer tip to touch bone. Roast, uncovered, for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours or until drumsticks move easily in their sockets and meat thermometer registers 180 degrees F.
- Remove chicken from oven. Using a slotted spoon, remove onion wedges and garlic cloves from pan. Reserve two or three onion wedges for garnish. Cover roast with foil and let stand 15 minutes before slicing.
- Carefully squeeze 10 cloves of the roasted garlic from skins into a blender container or food processor bowl. Add remaining roasted onion wedges and 1/4 cup of the half-and-half. Cover and blend or process the garlic mixture until smooth. Transfer to a small saucepan. Stir in flour. Add remaining half-and-half, the 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, the 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper to mixture in saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until slightly thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more.
- Serve chicken with gravy, remaining roasted garlic cloves, reserved onion wedges, and the fresh thyme sprigs (if desired).