Roasted with aromatic flavorings
The principle of roasting is simple: just place a whole bird in the oven and cook at 180° C (350° F) until the leg meat begins to come away from the bone.
Since we’re talking about reduced-calorie cooking, we’ll forget about oil or butter, and turn instead to aromatic flavorings: season the bird inside and out with salt and pepper; place a sprig of thyme and some cloves of roasted garlic into the cavity.

Add flavor
You can replace the thyme with cumin, caraway or a sprig of cilantro.

Glaze the roast chicken with onion jus: to do this, finely chop a few onions and caramelize them in a skillet with a small spoonful of butter or oil; add some chicken stock and reduce.

In a cocotte or Dutch oven
This is a simple, foolproof method. Simply brown the chicken in a skillet, then cook it, covered, in a 160° C (325° F) oven.

Once again, add some flavor: line the bottom of the cocotte with a bed of vegetables that have been sautéed in a skillet. You can use an assortment of vegetables but, personally, I prefer a single vegetable: tomato, fennel or onion compote.

Poached
This is the principle for the French dish “poule au pot,” or simmered chicken – perfect for a roasting chicken, though not recommended for a guinea fowl.

1. Season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper and place in a large pot with carrots, onion, parsley, mushrooms and half a lemon.
2. Add lots of stock, bring to a boil and cook over low heat until the leg meat pulls away from the bone.
3. Remove the skin; place the chicken on a large platter and debone.

Country-style: serve with vegetables as for a pot-au-feu; sprinkle with fleur de sel and cracked pepper.

Festive: to give a festive air to your chicken, you can garnish it with truffle slices. Truffle pieces or a drizzle of truffle juice will also add flavor, but with less expense.

Seasonal: consider a butternut squash purée flavored with your choice of cardamom, vanilla, or a splash of vinegar if you find it too sweet. If you choose the vanilla version, you can expand on the theme by placing a split vanilla bean in the cavity of the chicken before cooking it.