Tray roasted chicken, butternut squash and chickpeas.
INGREDIENTS
Servings: Serves 3
500g chicken thighs (bone in) 2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground ginger
2 cloves of garlic
Salt and pepper
Rapeseed oil
1 small-medium butternut squash
8 cm length of chorizo sausage, cut into 1cm dice 1 star anise
1 lemon
1 large red onion
230g cooked chickpeas (drained weight – so roughly a tin) 180g baby spinach leaves
3 tbsp of pine nuts
A handful of fresh coriander
Greek yoghurt
Milk
DIRECTIONS
Preheat your oven to 200C
First, cut out the bone from each of the chicken thighs, then cut each piece of chicken in two. Put in a bowl or on a plate, then drizzle with rapeseed oil, half a t-spoon of cinnamon, all the ground ginger and oregano and a good grinding of pepper. Leave this to marinate whilst you prepare the squash and other bits and pieces.
Peel the squash. Slice in half and scoop out the seeds. Cut into 3-4cm chunks. Peel the onion and garlic. Bash the garlic with the back of a heavy knife and cut the onion into six segments (cut in half lengthways, then into three). Place the onion, garlic and squash in a roasting tray and a good glug of rapeseed oil. Cut the stalks off your coriander and quickly run a knife through those stalks. Put them in the tray but reserve the leaves for later. Turn everything so that it’s all coated with the oil.
Fry the diced chorizo quickly, to just colour the edges and release some of the oils. Chuck all of this, including the oil, amongst the squash and sprinkle the remainder of the cinnamon over the tray from a height. Add a good grinding of pepper and a fair pinch of sea salt and toss the ingredients again so as to ensure they’re covered with oil and all the seasonings.
Season the meat with salt now and then arrange on top of the squash, skin side up. Cut the lemon into six segments (as per the onion). Remove any pips you see, gently squeeze a little juice from each lemon segment over the chicken pieces, then fit the segments into any gaps between the squash, onion and chicken. Chuck the tray in the oven and leave it to cook for twenty five minutes before looking at it.
In the meantime, toast the pine nuts in a heavy bottomed pan, just so the oils are released and they lightly brown. Wash the
spinach, drain the chickpeas, roughly chop the coriander leaves and thin your yoghurt with just a dash of milk.
Check the roasting tray, The squash is probably just softening and the chicken skin starting to colour. Give the tray a light shake or turn the squash with a spoon, just to ensure it’s not sticking and is cooking evenly. Put it back in the oven, close the door and after 10 to 15 minutes more, when the squash is soft to the touch and the chicken a lovely golden colour, throw in the drained chickpeas, and stir these amongst the other ingredients. Cook for 10 more minutes.
Take the roasting tray out the oven, add the spinach and let it warm but barely wilt amongst the hot ingredients for 3-4 minutes.
Serve up, garnishing either the roasting tray or each helping with a good few dollops of yoghurt, a handful of pine nuts and some of that chopped coriander.