Herby Butter Chicken with Roast Apricots
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Total: 1 hr 15 mins
A succulent supper of chicken thighs and drumsticks roasted with a sweet and tangy mix of apricots and sumach, aromatic sage and bay leaves and nutty new potatoes, topped with a melting mint and garlic butter sauce.
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762 kcal
(per portion)
Ingredients you'll need
  • 1kg new potatoes
  • 2 onions
  • 2 tsp sumach
  • 4 chicken thighs & 4 chicken drumsticks
  • A handful of sage
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 400g apricots
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1 lemon
  • 45g butter, room temperature
  • A large handful of mint, leaves only
  • 100g sweet salad mix
From your kitchen
  • 1½ tbsp olive oil
  • Sea salt
  • Freshly ground pepper
You'll need
  • Large roasting tin
Step by step this way
  • 1.

    Preheat your oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6. Scrub and halve or quarter the new potatoes so they’re roughly the same size. Peel and thinly slice the onions. Tumble the potatoes and onions into your largest roasting tin (or 2 smaller tins) and toss with 1 tbsp olive oil and some salt and pepper.

  • 2.

    Using a small, sharp knife, make a few shallow cuts in each chicken thigh and drumstick and pop them into the tin on top of the potatoes. Dust over 1 tsp sumach (keep the rest for later) and some salt and pepper. Tuck the sage and the bay leaves around the chicken. Roast for 30 mins.

  • 3.

    While the chicken roasts, halve the apricots and scoop out the stones. Set aside. Peel and grate the garlic into a bowl. Zest in the lemon and squeeze in the juice from 1 half. Add the room temperature butter with some salt and pepper and mash everything together with a fork.

  • 4.

    When the chicken has roasted for 35 mins, tuck the apricots into the tin. Scatter over another 1 tsp sumach. Slide back into the oven for 15 mins.

  • 5.

    Remove the tin from the oven after 15 mins and dot the garlicky lemon butter on top of the chicken. Slide back into the oven for a final 15 mins.

  • 6.

    Meanwhile, finely chop the mint leaves. Juice the remaining lemon half into a mixing bowl and whisk with ½ tbsp olive oil and some salt and pepper. Add the salad leaves and toss to dress.

  • 7.

    When the chicken has roasted for 1 hr in total, take it out of the oven and check if it’s done. The skin should be golden and the juices should run clear when you press a knife into the thickest part of a thigh. If not, cook the chicken for a few mins more.

  • 8.

    Divide the roast between 4 warm plates, spooning over the buttery sauce from the tin and discarding the herbs. Serve topped with chopped mint, with the lemony salad on the side.

  • Tip

    Eat Me, Keep Me
    The chicken and veg will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days and are delicious served cold, or you can reheat them in a microwave or in the oven in an ovenproof dish, loosely covered with foil. Add a splash of stock or water when your reheating them, and make sure they are piping hot all the way through.