Boulangère vegetables with crisp chicken & Dijon apples

A weeknight take on an unctuous French classic of simple sticky baked veg. We’ve added crispy-skinned chicken and a crisp, sharp salad on the side

Ingreadient

• 450g floury potatoes, skins left on, thinly sliced
• 1 large fennel, tough core discarded, then thinly sliced
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced into rounds
• 3 tbsp Essential Olive Oil
• ¼ x 20g pack lemon thyme, plus a few leaves to serve
• 550g pack 2 Essential British Chicken Legs
• 350ml chicken stock, made with 1 stock cube
• 1 crisp apple (such as Cox), sliced into matchsticks
• 2 tsp essential Dijon Mustard

Step by step

1. Preheat the oven to 220ºC, gas mark 7. Put the potatoes, fennel and onion into a large roasting tray, toss with the oil and season well. Tuck in the thyme sprigs and roast for 10 minutes. Sit the chicken legs on top, skin-side up. Season, then roast for 25 minutes more.
2. Remove the tray from the oven and pour over the stock, taking care to avoid the chicken skin. Reduce the oven temperature to 200ºC, gas mark 6, then bake for 15-20 minutes more, until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through with no pink meat and the juices run clear.
3. Toss the apple in the mustard. Plate up the vegetables and chicken, scatter with a few thyme leaves and add a spoonful of mustardtossed apple on the side.