Chicken and goats' cheese traybake

Ingredients

1 butternut squash (about 800g), peeled, deseeded and cut into wedges
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp sage, finely chopped
1 x 125g log soft goats’ cheese
1 garlic clove, crushed
5 sprigs of rosemary, 4 for the chicken and 1 finely chopped for the goats' cheese
6 skin-on and bone-in chicken thighs
½ x 250g pack smoked bacon lardons

Step by step

Get ahead

Stuff the chicken thighs with the cheese mixture a few hours before cooking and chill. Prepare the squash and mix with oil and herbs, cover, up to a few hours ahead.

Heat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Toss the squash wedges with 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon chopped sage and some seasoning. Tip onto a baking tray and cook for 15 minutes.
Mash the goats’ cheese, garlic, the remaining tablespoon of chopped sage and the chopped rosemary with some salt and pepper in a bowl with a fork.
Lift the skin from the chicken thighs to make a pocket between the flesh and skin, then push some of the cheese mixture into the pocket and squash down, smoothing it out underneath. Season the skin well.
Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a nonstick frying pan and fry the bacon lardons for a few minutes until golden brown. Scoop out of the pan, leaving the oil.
Fry the chicken thighs skin-side down for 6-8 minutes until golden. Turn over gently (don’t worry if a little cheese falls out) and cook for another 2 minutes, transfer to the baking tray between the squash wedges, then scatter over the bacon. Pour any juices over from the pan and tuck in 4 rosemary sprigs.
Cook for another 25 minutes in the oven until the chicken is cooked through and the squash is tender. When dishing up, spoon any cheese that has escaped back over. Serve with crispy potatoes or mash and greens

source:https://www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk/recipes/mains/chicken-and-goats-cheese-traybake