Roasted Chicken Thighs With Winter Squash

By Melissa Clark

Roasted Chicken Thighs With Winter Squash
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
45 minutes, plus 30 minutes’ marinating
Rating
5(2,888)
Comments
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Roasted chicken thighs can be the juicy, meaty center of many weeknight meals. Add delicata squash, quickly tossed in a maple syrup-butter glaze, along with slices of lemon and sage, and you have a something more unusual, an interplay of flavors that don’t generally meet on the same sheet pan. This recipe is a little too fussy to count as a fast weeknight dish, but there is nothing difficult about any of the steps. And it’s a fine introduction to delicata squash, if you haven’t cooked with them yet. Unlike many other winter squash varieties, they have a thin skin and don’t need to be peeled (just cut them in half and remove the seeds), making them as easy to prepare as they are sweet.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • ½lemon, ends trimmed, halved lengthwise, seeds removed, and thinly sliced crosswise into wedges
  • 4bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 1 and ½ pounds)
  • 1tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1tablespoon chopped sage
  • 1and ½ teaspoons coriander seed
  • 1and ½ teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1teaspoon black pepper
  • ¼cup maple syrup
  • 3tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
  • Large pinch chile powder
  • 1delicata or acorn squash (1 and ¼ pounds), seeded and sliced into ¼-inch-thick rings
  • ¼cup thinly sliced scallions, white and light-green parts
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

489 calories; 33 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 14 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 28 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 12 grams sugars; 21 grams protein; 813 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil; drop in lemon slices and cook for two minutes. Drain well.

  2. Step 2

    In a large bowl, toss chicken with lemon slices, 1 tablespoon oil, sage, coriander, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper. Let stand 30 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Heat oven to 425 degrees.

  4. Step 4

    In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine syrup, butter, remaining ½ teaspoon salt and chile powder. Simmer for 3 minutes. Toss mixture with squash.

  5. Step 5

    Spread squash in a 9-by-13-inch pan or on a large rimmed baking sheet. Nestle chicken and lemon on top of squash. Roast for 15 minutes. In a small bowl, toss scallions and remaining 1 teaspoon oil. Scatter over chicken and squash; keep roasting until chicken is no longer pink, about 20 minutes more.

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5 out of 5
2,888 user ratings
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Comments

Barbara

Just as a comment, the recipe calls for chili powder, not flakes. A bit more mild...

lucysky

Why use the delicata squash in the title of the recipe, when the picture clearly shows acorn squash?

Eva Santos-Phillips

Probably one of my very favorite recipes I have tried from NYT. I love the lemon in the recipe and have used this way of preparing the lemon in other recipes. I don't like sage, so I used thyme instead. The first time I used the acorn squash and it was good, but when I used the delicata squash it was fantastic.

MaineCook

This was wonderful. I used a whole lemon, which I loved but which my husband thought was a little too much lemon. I used 2 large leg/thigh pieces and 2 skinless, boneless breasts, and cooked on "convection roast" for 45 minutes. We're looking forward to the eating the leftovers tonight!

Sheryl H

PREP AHEAD FOR A CROWD 20 thighs, 5 delicata squash, 5 lemons Everything X5 (except 1/3 cup maple syrup) assuming dash=1/8tsp 2 large foil pans on top of cookie sheets The day before: Dry rub and olive oil the chicken (used a turkey bag) Morning: Prepped lemons/squash, assembled, covered, refrigerated Took out 30 mins before cooking Baked at 400 convection stacked Next time, tuck in the lemons so they don't burn BIG HIT!

Pamela

I made this last night following the recipe faithfully. It was creative and fun. I found the cutting/cleaning of the squash tedious. If the squash is small, or the smaller end, keep the slices whole. Larger: cut in half, spoon out and then cut. The squash cooks up so tasty. Regarding cooking time.. the high heat after the 2nd 15 minutes went beyond caramelizing the lemons (according to the video, the lemons were to be nested on top of ea thigh). Next time I'll nestle between the thighs.

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