David Tanis’ Lemon Garlic Roast Chicken with Squash

As a working mom, I’m always on the lookout for simple and quick easy weeknight meals. Enter sheet pans meals – I love how you usually just need to do the prep and the oven will do most of the work so you can do other things. Cleanup is very easy, too. 

Here’s a roast chicken recipe by David Tanis I found in NYT Cooking. With the abundance of squash in the market these days, this is really so perfect for a fall weeknight. This may take a while to cook but it works for me as a weeknight meal because my workplace is very close to our home. I’d make this for packed lunch (to work and school) too since it’s still good the day after.

Serves: 6

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: about 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients:

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

Salt and pepper

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon pimenton or smoked paprika

½ cup lemon juice (from 3 lemons)

3 lemons, 2 cut crosswise into ⅛-inch slices, 1 zested

2 heads garlic, separated into unpeeled cloves

3 small leeks, cut into 2-inch lengths

½ cup rosemary leaves, stripped from about 6 sprigs

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

2 delicata squash, seeds removed, sliced crosswise into ½-inch rings and seeded (I used cubed butternut squashed)

¼ cup chopped parsley

Directions:

1. 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 pimenton (or smoked paprika) on each thigh and rub into the surface. Pour lemon juice over chicken and let marinate for 30 minutes, if time allows.
2. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Arrange lemon slices around and under chicken. Scatter garlic cloves and leeks over top. Sprinkle with rosemary and drizzle with about 2 tablespoons 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.
3. 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. 
4. 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.