Chicken and Potato Traybake with Rosemary

Ingredients

• 8 chicken drumsticks
• 600g baby potatoes, halved
• 2 courgettes, cut into 2cm rounds
• 300g cherry tomatoes, on the vine if possible
• 6 garlic cloves, unpeeled and lightly crushed
• 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 200g Greek yoghurt
• 1 garlic clove, finely grated
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• 1 small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly torn, to serve
• extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle, to serve
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve
• flaky sea salt, to serve
• Crusty bread, to serve
• Simple green salad, to serve

Method

1. Heat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7. Tip the halved baby potatoes onto a large roasting tray, drizzle with 2 tbsp of the olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper — this is the only chance the potatoes get to take on salt, so don't be shy. Toss to coat, cut-side down.
2. Roast for 15 minutes until the cut sides are turning golden and starting to catch at the edges. A head start gives the potatoes time to crisp before the chicken juices hit the tray.
3. Meanwhile, pat the drumsticks bone-dry with kitchen paper — water means steam, and steam means no bronzed skin. Rub all over with the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil, the smoked paprika and oregano, and season generously with salt and pepper. Work the spices into the oil on the skin so they bloom in the heat of the oven rather than sitting raw and dusty — paprika and oregano need that fat-and-heat moment to taste of themselves.
4. Pull the tray from the oven, nestle the drumsticks skin-side up among the potatoes, and tuck the crushed garlic cloves and rosemary sprigs into the gaps. Leave the garlic in its skins — whole cloves roast slowly and turn sweet, but naked garlic in a hot tray scorches in minutes and goes bitter. Watch for any peeled bits and bury them under a potato.
5. Roast for 20 minutes, until the skin is starting to colour and the kitchen smells of rosemary and warm paprika.
6. Scatter the courgette rounds and cherry tomatoes into the tray, pushing them into the gaps in a single layer rather than piling them on the chicken — crowded vegetables steam instead of roasting. Season the new arrivals with another pinch of salt. Back in the oven for 15 minutes, until the skin is deep bronze and crisp, the juices run clear from the thickest part of the drumstick, and the tomatoes have burst and pooled their juices around the potatoes.
7. While the tray finishes, stir the Greek yoghurt with the grated garlic, all the lemon zest and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Taste — it should be sharp, garlicky and properly seasoned; adjust salt now, not at the table. Spoon into a small bowl.
8. Rest the tray for 2 minutes so the juices settle back into the meat. Scatter over the torn parsley and a pinch of flaky sea salt, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and bring it to the table with the lemon garlic yoghurt, lemon wedges for squeezing over, crusty bread and a simple green salad alongside.