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1
Mash together the chopped head of garlic, thyme, salt, and olive oil.
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2
Season with pepper and set aside.
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3
Heat the oven to 450 degrees F and arrange a rack in the middle.
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4
Remove the bag of giblets from inside the chicken and discard everything but the neck.
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5
Rinse the chicken inside and out and pat dry with paper towels.
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6
Season well with salt.
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7
Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to stuff.
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8
When ready to stuff, remove the chicken from the refrigerator and place on a cutting board.
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9
Remove the first two sections of the wings, leaving the third bone attached.
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10
Reserve the wings with the neck.
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11
Carefully slide your fingers underneath the skin on each breast, thigh, and at the neck to loosen the skin.
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12
Evenly distribute the garlic paste under the skin and inside the chicken cavity.
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13
Slice off the top of the whole head of garlic, season with salt and pepper, and rub with a little olive oil.
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14
Place the garlic inside the cavity with 5 sprigs of the thyme.
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15
Tie the drumsticks together with kitchen twine.
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16
Rub the skin with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper.
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17
Toss the unpeeled garlic cloves, lemon wedges, celery pieces, remaining thyme sprigs, and reserved wings and neck with about 1 tablespoon olive oil.
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18
Season with salt and pepper and mound this mixture in the center of a roasting pan.
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19
Place the chicken on top of the mound, breast side down.
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20
Allow to sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes.
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21
Place the chicken in the oven and roast for 15 minutes, then remove the pan from the oven and turn the bird breast side up.
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22
Return the pan to the oven and reduce the heat to 375 degrees F. Continue roasting for 25 minutes more.
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23
In a small bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups of the chicken broth with the wine and pour this over the chicken.
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24
Continue roasting until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees F, about 15 to 20 minutes more.
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25
Remove from the oven (but leave the oven on for toasting the croutons).
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26
Place the chicken on a clean cutting board and allow to rest while you finish the jus.
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27
Remove the lemon wedges from the roasting pan and discard.
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28
Pour the contents of the roasting pan into a medium saucepan and add the remaining 3/4 cup chicken broth.
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29
Cut the string off the drumsticks, remove the garlic head from the chickens cavity, and place it in the saucepan.
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30
Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, skimming away the fat as it rises to the surface.
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31
Strain this mixture, reserving several of the whole garlic cloves to serve with each portion of chicken.
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32
Keep the jus warm.
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33
Brush the bread slices with the olive oil on both sides.
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34
While you carve the chicken, toast the bread in the oven until crisp.
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35
When the croutons are toasted, rub the surface of each with the cut end of a raw garlic clove.
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36
To serve, place a crouton in a shallow bowl and top with a piece of chicken.
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37
Pour some jus over top and garnish with several of the reserved cooked garlic cloves.
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38
Serve extra garlic toasts on the side.
