Roasted Chicken with Cardamom Squash and Apples
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Doesn’t this dish just scream “autumn”? I love the using warm spices like cardamom and cinnamon on roasted vegetables. It makes them taste extra… autumn-y? You know what I mean. Also, it’s finally cooled down enough for me to turn on my oven, so YAY for roasting things!
This dish seriously couldn’t be any easier, or any more adaptable! Substitute squash and apples for your favorite starchy veggies – you could use potatoes, pumpkin, pears, delicata or acorn squash… so many options! Same goes for the spices – try a combination of your favorite fresh herbs (rosemary, sage, cilantro, etc) in place of the turmeric, cardamom and cinnamon. You could even go Thai with a little fish sauce, some lemongrass and mint! Basically, if you’re afraid of cooking without a recipe, make this one time and you’ll see how easy it is to use whatever you’ve got lying around for an easy roasted chicken + veggie dish.
You’ll need a butternut squash, chicken, garlic, aples, red chili flakes, cinnamon, turmeric and cardamom. Ignore the onion, I changed my mind half way and didn’t use it. Not pictured: olive oil, salt, pepper.
Dice up the squash and apples, crush the garlic and place it in a baking dish large enough to fit the vegetables in a single layer and hold the chicken. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat.
Add in the spices: turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon, sugar, salt and chili flakes. Stir to coat the veggies.
Salt and pepper the chicken generously. Drizzle a little bit more olive oil onto the chicken skin to help it brown and crisp up. Bake at 400F for 1 hour 15 mins, or until chicken is browned and cooked through and vegetables are tender.
That’s it!
Place the squash and apples on the serving dish, along with a little of the pan sauce from the baking dish.
Top with a chicken leg and you’re ready for dinner.
A little chopping, a bit of mixing and you have a delicious roasted chicken dinner with vegetables that’s also paleo-friendly!
- 1 - 1 1/2-pound butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1" dice
- 3 apples peeled, cored and cut into 1" dice (Fuji, Pink Lady, Braeburn and the like work well here)
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp chili flake (optional)
- 4 whole chicken leg quarters (3-4 pounds chicken pieces )
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Combine squash and apples and garlic in a baking dish large enough to fit the vegetables in a single layer. Add olive oil and toss to coat. Add in turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon, 1 tsp salt, sugar, and chili flake, if using. Toss to mix. Place chicken on top of the vegetables, skin side up. Drizzle olive oil over the skin and season generously with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and squash and apples are tender.
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