Roast Chicken with Carrots & Potatoes

• 1.6 kgchicken leg portions
• 800 gnew potatoes, halved
• 500 gcarrots, cut into batons
• 3 tbspgarlic-infused olive oil
• 30 gunsalted butter, melted
• 1lemon, zest and juice
• 1 tspdried thyme
• 1 tspsmoked paprika
• 1 tbspmaple syrup (optional, for glaze) (optional)
• sea salt and black pepper, to season
• 2 tbspchopped chives

Method

1. 1Heat the oven to 200°C fan. Pat the chicken legs thoroughly dry with kitchen paper.
2. 2In a large bowl, toss the halved potatoes and carrot batons with 2 tbsp of the garlic-infused oil, the melted butter, smoked paprika and dried thyme. Season generously with salt and pepper. Rub the spices into the oil as you toss.
3. 3Spread the vegetables in a single layer across a large roasting tray. Don't crowd them; pile them up and they steam instead of roast, and you lose the crisp edges. Use two trays if you need to.
4. 4Nestle the chicken legs on top, skin-side up. Drizzle over the remaining garlic oil, squeeze over half the lemon juice, and scatter the lemon zest across the skin. Season the chicken hard with salt and pepper; more than feels polite.
5. 5Roast for 35 minutes, then baste the chicken and turn the vegetables. Roast for another 20–25 minutes until the thickest chicken part reaches 75°C for 30 seconds, clear of the bone, and the vegetables are tender.
6. 6If using maple syrup, mix it with the remaining lemon juice and brush over the tray for the final 5–8 minutes. Otherwise add the remaining lemon juice when serving.
7. 7Rest the tray on the side for 8–10 minutes; the juices need to settle back into the meat or they'll run out the moment you cut.
8. 8Scatter over the chives and finish with black pepper. Serve with the pan juices.

Per serving

kcal

555

protein

55.9g

fibre

5.4g

carbs

31.4g

fat

22.3g