ROASTED THYME CHICKEN WITH GRAPES & HONEY ACORN SQUASH
I've been making this simple acorn squash for a long long time now! It's one of those fast, throw in your oven Fall side dishes. Great for Thanksgiving coming up!
The roasted thyme chicken with grapes is inspired by a dish from Jamie Oliver's Food Magazine, Jamie. It wasn't that long ago that I made the dish, early March perhaps. I wanted to make it again, but was too lazy to look for the magazine or search it online. When I was grocery shopping and thinking of what to make, I knew this dish had grapes. Anyhow, I winged it and churned out a winner.
I must admit, I love the UK's food magazines, I'm not a fan of the measurements. We use cups not grams here, so it took a little longer to convert the recipes. Ain't nobody got time for that! Okay, okay maybe I do.
Each bite of the chicken is best with a sliver of a grape. There's something about thyme and the suttle sweetness from the grape, that makes this dish delicious!
ROASTED THYME CHICKEN WITH GRAPES & HONEY ACORN SQUASH
Chicken Inspired by Jamie Oliver's Food Magazine, Jamie
Serves 3 to 4
Ingredients
1 (3 to 4 pound) whole chicken, cut into 10 parts (4 breasts cut crosswise, 2 wings, 2 thighs, 2 legs) excluding the back
Olive oil cooking spray
1 tablespoon house seasoning (1 cup coarse salt, 1/4 cup black pepper, 1/4 garlic powder)
1 teaspoon, dried thyme
1 1/2 cups green seedless grapes
2 acorn squashs, halved and deseeded (will make 4 halves)
2 tablespoons honey
Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
<assembling the chicken>
Coat a large baking pan with olive oil cooking spray.
Arrange the chicken pieces apart from one another on the baking pan.
Sprinkle both sides of the chicken pieces with house seasoning and thyme.
Place chicken pieces skin-side up.
Add the grapes to the pan to roast with the chicken.
Set aside.
<preparing the acorn squash>
Cut the ends off the acorn squash, then cut crosswise.
Scoop out seeds and discard with a grapefruit spoon.
Rest the acorn squash in a small sheet pan, end-side down.
Spray the flesh with olive oil cooking spray.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper; and drizzle with honey.
<roasting the chicken and acorn squash>
Place pan with chicken and grapes in the middle shelf of the oven.
Plan pan with acorn squash below the chicken on the lower shelf.
Roast chicken and grapes at 400 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes.
Remove from oven. Let chicken rest for 5 to 8 minutes before serving.
Roast acorn squash at 400 degrees for 5 more minutes, 45 to 50 minutes.
Enjoy!
Notes
When cutting the ends off the acorn squash, cut a little bit off the ends, enough to allow it to stand on its own without tilting in the pan.
Roast the acorn squash five minutes more than the chicken. Besides you want the chicken to rest for at least 5 minutes after you remove it from the oven, this keeps it juicy.
It's one half of acorn squash per person.
