Oven-baked chicken with spring vegetable gravy

Ingredients:

• 1 roasting chicken weighing 2.5 kg, patted dry
• 1 lemon (preferably Meyer lemon)
• 1 fennel root, sliced ​​into thick wedges, greens trimmed and set aside
• 1 head of garlic, cut in half horizontally
• 1 small onion, cut into 6 wedges
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• 1 cup lightly salted chicken broth
• 1/4 cup dry vermouth
• 1 tbsp chilled unsalted butter

Preparation:

1. Let the chicken stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220°C.
2. Using a vegetable peeler, remove 4 strips of zest from the lemon. Cut the lemon in half and set aside. Combine the chopped fennel, garlic, onion, and lemon zest in a roasting pan with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil; fit a rack on top. Place the chicken, breast side up, on the rack. Squeeze half the lemon and rub with the remaining 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil; rub inside and out with 2 teaspoons of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, then place the squeezed lemon half and fennel greens into the cavity. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine.
3. Place the chicken in the oven and roast for 45 minutes. Combine the broth and vermouth in a measuring cup. Pour a few spoonfuls of the broth over the chicken and add to the roasting pan. Continue roasting, basting with the broth and vermouth every 15 minutes, until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (not touching the bone) registers 165°F (74°C), 45 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes (drain any juices from the cavity into the roasting pan halfway through). You should have about 1/2 cup of the broth mixture remaining.
4. Let the chicken rest in the roasting pan for 10 minutes. Pour the cavity juices back into the roasting pan, then transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let it rest for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, remove the rack from the roasting pan and pour in the remaining broth mixture, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom; gently mash the vegetables. Pour everything into a sieve set over a medium saucepan, pressing down on the vegetables to extract as much juice as possible (discard any excess from the sieve).
5. Bring the juices to a boil over medium heat, season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat, add the butter, and stir until melted. Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice from the remaining lemon half. Slice the chicken and serve with the gravy.