Chicken drumstick roast recipe

Chicken drumsticks and potatoes roasted in honey, white wine vinegar and orange.

This chicken drumstick roast is made with one of the cheapest cuts of chicken you can buy, but it tastes fantastic. It's also really easy to make. The chicken and potatoes all go in one pan and you only need 10 minutes to prepare everything. Then it cooks over the course of an hour with very little extra help. You'll need an extra baking tray for the cabbage, but you can serve it over the top of the rest of the roast - for minimal washing up. All in all, it's a perfect midweek roast. Best of all, this roast is guilt-free - it's only 342 calories per serving.

Ingredients

• 16 small potatoes (about 500-700g)
• 2 onions, unpeeled, cut into wedges
• 4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• 8 chicken drumsticks
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 tbsp clear honey
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• A few fresh thyme sprigs
• Zest and juice of 1 orange
• ½ a cabbage, finely shredded
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Method

1. Set the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas 7. Put the potatoes, onion wedges, garlic and chicken drumsticks in a roasting tin. Sprinkle with the cumin seeds. Drizzle with the vinegar, oil and honey and season well. Tuck the thyme sprigs in among the other ingredients and add the pared rind of the orange.
2. Roast for 20 mins, turn everything in the pan and roast for another 30 mins until the chicken is cooked and the vegetables are golden.
3. Add the orange juice to the tin and baste the chicken. Cook for another 10 mins.
4. Cook the cabbage at the same time by mixing it with the oil on a baking tray. Put on the top shelf of the oven and cook for about 6 mins until crispy. Serve with the chicken roast.

Top tip for making this chicken drumstick roast

Swap the chicken drumsticks for chicken thighs if you prefer. On the bone and skin-on be the tastiest and will stay the most moist, but use thigh fillets if you prefer.

If you like garlic, add more whole (unpeeled) cloves to the dish. When they roast the skins become crisp and the inside becomes soft and the flavour mellows. Squash the insides out of the skins and eat it as a garlic paste on the potatoes.

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