Farmhouse chicken

Cut the chicken into 8 portions if using a whole chicken. Finely chop the herbs and place in a bowl. Melt the butter and add to the herbs with salt and pepper. Lay a sheet of aluminium foil on the work surface and brush the shiny side with oil. Use a pastry brush to coat each piece of chicken with herbed butter. Wrap each piece of chicken in a slice of ham or bacon. Place the pieces on the foil, fitting the chicken back together again to resemble a whole bird. Wrap securely in the foil to secure the shape. Place in a casserole dish and cover. Place the casserole dish in a cold oven and turn oven to 230 ºC. Bake for 1 hour 45 minutes without opening the casserole dish. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 5 minutes before removing the lid. Using a pair of scissors, cut from the centre of the foil outwards in all four directions, making a cross. Cut each foil quarter in half. Fold back each of the foil pieces from the centre to the side of the casserole making a flower shape. Return to the oven and brown for 10 minutes. Serve immediately with olive focaccia (or other Italian bread) and steamed baby vegetables with vinaigrette dressing.
Serves 4.