Chicken Baked In Pumpkin Recipe

Ingredients

1.5 kg chicken thighs (Chicken Maryland, thighs with drumsticks attached)
3 kg pumpkin (1 whole Japanese pumpkin)
2 tablespoons oil (extra virgin, plus extra to drizzle)
20 grams unsalted butter

Thyme (4 sprigs)
1/2 cup white wine
250 grams peas (snow peas, blanched then refreshed)
Snow pea sprouts (100 grams)

Nutritional

Serving Size: 1 (428 g)
Calories 546.2
Total Fat - 40.9 g
Saturated Fat - 12.2 g
Cholesterol - 131 mg
Sodium - 111.5 mg
Total Carbohydrate - 19.1 g
Dietary Fiber - 4.7 g
Sugars - 5.2 g
Protein - 24.6 g
Calcium - 70.7 mg
Iron - 3.4 mg
Vitamin C - 48.8 mg
Thiamin - 0.3 mg

Step by Step Method

Step 1

As your butcher to separate the marylands (leg and thigh intact) from the chicken and remove the backbone to leave a chicken crown with the wings on.

Step 2

Reserve the marylands for another use and you could also use the backbone to make stock or discard.

Step 3

Using a sharp knife, cut a wide circle into the top of the pumpkin to create a large lid.

Step 4

Use a spoon to remove seeds and scrape around the edges, creating a cavity large enough for the chicken crown to fit inside.

Step 5

Preheat the oven to 180C and brush chicken with oil and season.

Step 6

Melt butter in a frypan over medium-high heat and add the chicken and cook, turning for 3-4 minutes until skin is golden.

Step 7

Remove chicken and set aside and add the thyme and white wine to pan, and cook, scraping the bottom of the pan with a spoon, for 2 minutes or until wine is reduced by half.

Step 8

Place the pumpkin in a roasting pan, then place the chicken inside the pumpkin.

Step 9

Pour wine over chicken and replace with pumpkin lid on top - the lid should fit quite tightly (you may need to readjust chicken if lid doesn't fit tightly and them cover pumpkin with foil.