One Pot Chicken with Lemon, Sweet Potato & Olives

One pot meals are great in my books and this is a flavoursome favourite for all.

1 kg of sweet potato and/or butternut squash
1 red onion, peeled and cut into wedges
1 cup of green olives
1 lemon sliced
2-3 rashers bacon sliced into strips
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 Bay leaves
120 mL chicken stock
1.7 kg chicken, jointed
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
sea salt & fresh ground black pepper
chopped flat leaf parsley

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius

Cut the sweet potatoes & squash into chunks and place in single layer in bottom of a roasting tray or oven proof dish.
Scatter over the onion, olives, lemon, bacon and bay leaves.
Combine the tomato paste, balsamic and stock and then pour over vegetables.
Lay the chicken pieces on top, drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Roast for 50 mins or until chicken is golden.
Transfer the chicken pieces to a warm plate and cover to keep warm. Increase oven temp to 220 degrees celsius and return tray to oven for 10 mins, watch over and ensure you don’t burn.
Return the chicken on top of the vegetables, scatter with parsley and serve.

Add a side of steamed beans.

Note:

This should feed 4. To feed more I would add some organic chicken drumsticks, and this usually then gives me enough for leftovers and lunches the next day.
If you have not jointed a chicken before, give it a go. It’s the most economical way to enjoy your organic chicken.

I then use the carcass of the jointed chicken to make a fresh batch of Chicken broth, even adding the bones after the meal.

This meal I have adapted from a Bill Granger recipe. The main difference is that Bill used 1 kg of potatoes, which you can of course use.