Maple-glazed chicken with butternut squash recipe

You only need one dish to create this simple weeknight roast dinner.

Maple-glazed chicken with butternut squash is the holy trinity of weeknight cooking: it's easy, affordable, and healthy (only 318 calories per portion). Chicken legs consist of both the thigh and the drumstick. They are one of the cheapest ways to buy chicken, making this a great, budget-friendly meal. They're also really tasty - thigh meat is more tender and has a better flavour than breast meat, especially if it's cooked slowly like this. If you have time before you start, make up the maple glaze in advance. Brush it onto the chicken legs then place them in a dish and cover with clingfilm. Leave in the fridge for an hour or two before cooking so the chicken can marinate in the dressing.

Ingredients

• 4 chicken legs
• 1 butternut squash, about 850g - peeled and deseeded weight
• 2 red or white onions, peeled and cut into wedges
• 6 large whole cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
• 2 large courgettes, sliced thickly
• A few fresh thyme sprigs

Method

1. Set the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Cut the squash into chunks, and mix in a roasting tin with the onion wedges and all but 2 of the cloves of garlic. Sprinkle in 1 tbsp of the oil, mix well and season. Roast for 15 mins.
2. Peel and crush the other two cloves of garlic and mix with the maple syrup, mustard and the rest of the oil.
3. Add the courgettes and thyme to the squash in the roasting tin and place the chicken legs on top. Brush these with the maple syrup glaze. Roast for 50 mins - 1 hr until chicken is well-cooked and the vegetables are tender.

Top tip for making maple-glazed chicken with butternut squash

If you don't have maple syrup, honey is a good substitute.

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