TODAY’S RECIPE: Five-a-day chicken with kale & pistachio pesto

DELICIOUS traybake packed with veg. SERVES 3-4.

Ingredients

500g butternut squash, peeled and cut into thin slices

200g shallots, peeled and halved

300g leeks, use baby leeks or cut large ones into lengths and halve

300g carrots (use baby ones or cut into batons)

400g fennel, cut into long wedges

Olive oil

1 garlic bulb, halved through the middle

3-4 large or 6-8 small chicken thighs

FOR THE PESTO:

200g chopped kale, woody stalks removed

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 tbsp pistachio kernels

2 tbsp grated Parmesan

½ lemon, juiced

60ml olive oil

Method

1 Heat oven to 200c/180c fan/gas 6. Put all the veg for the bake except the garlic in a large bowl and add 1 tbsp olive oil. Mix everything so it is coated with oil. Lightly oil the tray to prevent the veg sticking. Arrange the veg in piles on the tray or scatter it all over if you prefer.

2 Add the garlic halves and sit the chicken thighs on top of the veg. Season well and bake for 40 minutes. At the end of the cooking time, if the chicken skin is still pale, turn the oven up or turn it onto the grill setting and cook or grill until it is browned.

3 Meanwhile, make the pesto. Whizz the kale, garlic and pistachios until finely chopped. Add the Parmesan, lemon juice and olive oil, and whizz again. Any leftover pesto will keep in a jar for up to three days in the fridge. Serve the chicken and veg with pesto spooned over.