Roast chicken with squash, black lentils and hazelnut picada

Roast chicken with squash, black lentils and hazelnut picada

Diana Henry’s roast chicken recipe takes a spanish twist with zesty, flavour-packed picada and sherry-roasted squash.

Roast chicken with squash, black lentils and hazelnut picada

  • Serves icon Serves 6
  • Time icon Hands-on time 50 min, oven time 1 hour 20 min

Diana Henry’s roast chicken recipe takes a spanish twist with zesty, flavour-packed picada and sherry-roasted squash.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories
746kcals
Fat
37.8g (5.8g saturated)
Protein
56.1g
Carbohydrates
34.7g (9g sugars)
Fibre
9.3g
Salt
0.5g

Ingredients

For the chicken

  • 1.8kg free-range whole chicken
  • 6 tbsp olive oil
  • 8 tbsp amontillado sherry
  • 1kg crown prince or butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into wedges
  • 225g black lentils (see Know-how)
  • ½ small onion, left in one piece
  • 1 celery stick, halved
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 fresh thyme sprigs
  • 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • Juice ½ lemon

For the picada

  • 100ml olive oil
  • 30g rustic bread (or sourdough), in 1cm cubes
  • 40g skin-on hazelnuts
  • Zest ½ orange, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh flatleaf parsley
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
  • 1 tbsp amontillado sherry
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Method

  1. Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/ gas 4. Put the chicken in a roasting tin and season inside and out. Drizzle inside and out with 2 tbsp olive oil and 4 tbsp sherry. Roast for 1 hour 20 minutes, basting now and then.
  2. Put the squash into a roasting tin. Add the remaining 4 tbsp olive oil and season, then toss to coat. Drizzle with 2 tbsp of the sherry. Put into the oven after the chicken has been cooking for 55 minutes (the squash needs 40-50 minutes cooking). Rest the chicken for 15 minutes while the squash finishes cooking; it should be tender and caramelised at the edges.
  3. Meanwhile, put the lentils in a pan with the onion, celery, garlic, bay and thyme. Cover with water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes until tender. Keep an eye on them as they can turn mushy if overcooked. Drain. Remove the onion, celery, garlic and herbs (discard). Stir in the extra-virgin olive oil and lemon juice. Season well, cover and keep warm.
  4. To make the picada, pour the 100ml olive oil into a small frying pan over a medium heat. Drop a piece of bread in the oil; if it sizzles a bit, reduce the heat slightly and add the bread in a single layer. Fry, turning, until pale golden on both sides. Spread out on kitchen paper and leave to cool.
  5. Toast the nuts in a dry frying pan until fragrant. Rub in a tea towel while warm to remove the skins, then roughly chop. Finely chop the fried bread with the nuts, zest, parsley and garlic, then mix with the vinegar and sherry. Put the lentils and squash on a platter with the chicken. Drizzle the chicken with the rest of the sherry and any juices, scatter over the picada and serve.

Nutrition

Calories
746kcals
Fat
37.8g (5.8g saturated)
Protein
56.1g
Carbohydrates
34.7g (9g sugars)
Fibre
9.3g
Salt
0.5g

delicious. tips

  1. Buy black (or beluga) lentils from health food shops or realfoods.co.uk. Otherwise, any small lentil, such as puy, will do.

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