Method
Heat the oven
200C fan.
Grind the spices
Grind the dry spices, herbs, salt and pepper together in a mortar and pestle. Work in the lemon zest, then stir in the olive oil and lemon juice to make a paste.
Spatchcock the chicken
Untie the legs and put the bird breast side down. Cut along both sides of the backbone and take it out. Turn it over and press firmly on the breastbone until it lies flat.
Rub it in
Pat the chicken dry, then work the paste all over it and under the skin. Dry skin is the whole point: wet skin steams instead of crisping.
Roast
Spread the carrots and onions in a single layer in a large tray and sit the chicken skin side up on top.
Roast until the thickest part of the thigh reads 74C, keeping the probe off the bone. Start checking at 45 minutes.
50m
Rest
Ten minutes before carving, no less.
10m
Notes
The final mixture has no basil, cayenne or paprika. Thyme, honey and Dijon came up early on and are not in the measured version.
The vegetables underneath soak up everything that comes off the bird, which is most of the reason for cooking it this way.