Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F

Take the whole chicken and lay it on a board with the breast side down. With a good pair of kitchen scissors that can be separated for easy cleaning, start cutting along one side of the spine. Try to cut as close to it as you can. You will crunch through bones. Once you have cut all along one side, cut along the other side. Discard the spine once you have cut it out.

Cut the onion into eight chunky pieces and arrange it on the bottom of your roasting pan to create a bed for the chicken. Do the same to the lemon but squeeze some of the juice over the chicken before arranging the pieces on the bottom of the pan.

Place the chicken on the bed of onion and lemon skin side up.

Drizzle the olive oil over the chicken and then sprinkle the sumac and Za'atar evenly over the whole chicken.

Sprinkle the salt and peper over the chicken as well.

Place the roasting pan in the oven, uncovered and roast for an hour and a half. The chicken is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165F.

For a simple pan sauce, add 1/2 cup water, stir to mix the dark bits in with the water. Pour liquid into a bowl and spoon out the excess fat.

Serve with a large salad or platter of cut up vegetables for a simple dinner.