30 Minute Roast Chicken and Veg

(Serves 2)

Ingredients

• Fresh rosemary sprigs, if available
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 crushed cloves garlic
• 4 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp ground cumin, optional
• 1 tsp crumbled oreganum, optional
• 2 chicken legs

Enough prepared seasonal vegetables for 2 people suitable vegetables include:

• kumara, pumpkin, potatoes and/or parsnip,
• peeled and cut into 1cm slices
• a red or brown onion
• a red, green, yellow, orange pepper
• a small eggplant (about 150g), quartered lengthwise
• a green or yellow zucchini, halved lengthwise
• 2 - 4 whole mushrooms

Method

Heat the oven to 230°C, or 220°C for fan-bake.
Line a roasting pan with a Teflon liner, baking paper or lightly buttered or oiled foil. If you have them, spread fresh rosemary sprigs in the pan.
Mix the next 5 ingredients in a large plastic bag. Turn the chicken pieces in this to coat them lightly, then arrange in the pan, and put in the oven to start cooking.
Prepare the vegetables without delay, starting with those needing longest cooking (root vegetables). As each is ready, coat with mixture in bag and place in pan in oven. (Peel and quarter the onion, leaving the root end intact to hold onion together. Quarter peppers and remove the seeds and pith.) Add zucchini and mushrooms last, allowing 15-20 minutes cooking time for these.
When  the chicken has cooked for about 30 minutes, test it by piercing it with a skewer in the thickest part. It is ready when the juices run clear, not pink. The vegetables should be tender and browned in some places (remove them from the pan if they are cooked before the chicken is).

Variations: Roast the chicken legs without any vegetables in the pan if you like.

Roast Lemon Chicken Legs: Another interesting and flavourful mixture to brush over chicken legs in a lined dish is: ½ tsp grated lemon rind, ¼ cup lemon juice, ¼ cup water or white wine, ¼ tsp dried thyme or tarragon, 2 finely chopped garlic cloves and 2 Tbsp butter. Bake uncovered, at the same temperature for the same time. Cover with foil if legs brown too fast.

NB: Any chicken which is to be roasted, may be put in the oven before it is up to heat. Allow a few minutes extra cooking time in this situation.