This recipe from NYT Cooking flavours chicken thighs with smoky spices, lemon and garlic. Season thighs with spices and pour lemon juice over them. Arrange lemon slices under the chicken, scatter garlic cloves and leeks over the chicken, sprinkle with rosemary and drizzle with oil. Roast for about an hour. After the chicken has cooked for 30 minutes, arrange squash rings on a baking sheet, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast for a half hour or until tender. Serve chicken with squash and garnish with a mixture of parsley and lemon zest. Cook’s note: Because the squash was cooked on a separate baking sheet, it is not shown in the photo. I omitted the parsley-lemon zest garnish.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Check the dried spices to make sure they don’t contain colour or anti-caking agents. Use freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Lemon garlic roast chicken with squash

Ingredients:

6 large bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 3 ½ to 4 pounds/1.6 to 1.8 kg)

Salt and pepper

1 teaspoon (5 ml) turmeric

1 teaspoon (5 ml) smoked paprika

½ cup lemon juice (from 3 lemons)

3 lemons, 2 cut crosswise into 1/8-inch (0.3-cm) slices, 1 zested

2 heads garlic, separated into unpeeled cloves

3 small leeks, cut into 2-inch (5-cm) lengths

½ cup (125 ml) rosemary leaves, stripped from about 6 sprigs

2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling.

2 delicata squash, seeds removed, sliced crosswise into ½-inch (1.25-cm) rings and seeded

¼ cup (60 ml) chopped parsley

Preparation:

Set chicken thighs in a single layer in a roasting pan. Season generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Put a pinch of turmeric and a pinch of smoked paprika on each thigh and rub into the surface. Pour lemon juice over chicken and let marinate for 30 minutes, if time allows.

Heat oven to 400 degrees F (204 C). Arrange lemon slices around and under chicken. Scatter garlic cloves and leeks over top. Sprinkle with rosemary and drizzle with about 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil. Roast on the middle rack of the oven, uncovered, for about an hour, until meat is tender and the juices run clear when probed, and the chicken is nicely browned and lemon slices slightly charred.

Meanwhile, arrange the squash rings on a baking sheet. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Add to the oven after the chicken has cooked for about 30 minutes. Roast uncovered on top rack of oven until lightly browned and fork-tender, about 30 minutes.

To serve, mix together parsley and lemon zest. Transfer chicken, garlic, leeks and lemon slices to a serving platter (or serve from an oven-to-table roasting pan). Top with squash rings and parsley-lemon mixture. Serves 6.

From NYT Cooking