Sticky orange chicken with parsnips, maple & pecans

• blood oranges↗2

  1 juiced, 1 thickly sliced

• maple syrup↗3 tbsp tbsp
• olive oil↗2 tbsp tbsp
• sherry vinegar↗2 tbsp tbsp
• wholegrain mustard↗1 tbsp tbsp
• cranberry or redcurrant jelly↗1 tbsp tbsp

  melted

• parsnips↗2

  quartered, peeled and the core cut out and discarded

• chicken thighs↗4

  skin on

• small shallots↗140g g

  left whole but peeled

• thyme sprigs↗2

  broken up a bit

• pecans↗25g g

  barely chopped

• mixed leaf↗

  salad or wilted spinach, to serve (optional)

• cooked rice↗

  to serve (optional)

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Juice 1 of the oranges and whisk together with the maple syrup, olive oil, vinegar, mustard and cranberry jelly. Cut the parsnips into chunky lengths. Put the parnips, chicken thighs and shallots in a roasting tin – make sure everything can sit in a single layer but quite snug. Drizzle over half the orange sauce with some seasoning and toss to coat everything. Roast for 35 mins.

2. 2

   Remove the tin from the oven and poke the orange slices in among everything. Scatter over the thyme and drizzle over the rest of the orange sauce. Roast for another 15 mins until the chicken is tender and cooked through, and everything is sticky and golden. Mix in the pecans and cook for another 5 mins. Serve straight away, remembering to scrape out all the sticky juices from the tin, and eat with a mixed leaf salad or some wilted spinach, plus a little rice to soak up the sauce, if you like.