Lemon and herb chicken traybake with kumara
One tray, one oven, almost nothing to wash. The kumara goes sweet and caramelised at the edges while the chicken stays juicy.
Notable for: vitamin C, fibre, vitamin A
Ingredients
- 900 gchicken breast, left whole
- 800 gorange kumara, 2 cm wedges
- 600 gwashed potatoes, 2 cm wedges
- 300 gbrown onions, thick wedges
- 1red capsicum, thick strips
- 2lemons, one sliced, one juiced
- 15 gcrushed garlic
- 5 gdried mixed herbs
- 30 mlolive oil
- 300 gfrozen green beans
Method
Heat the oven to 200C, then toss the kumara, potato, onion and capsicum with half the oil, the herbs and plenty of salt on a large tray.
Roast the vegetables on their own for 15 minutes, so they get a head start.
While they roast, rub the chicken with the rest of the oil, the garlic and the lemon juice.
Push the vegetables to the edges, lay the chicken in the middle with the lemon slices tucked around, and roast for 25 minutes.
Scatter the green beans over the tray for the last 5 minutes.
Rest the tray for 5 minutes before serving, and spoon the tray juices back over everything.
Give the vegetables a head start
Kumara and potato take a good ten minutes longer than chicken thigh. Roasting them alone first is the difference between caramelised edges and pale, steamed wedges.
Storage
Keeps three days in the fridge.
Reheat in a hot oven rather than a microwave so the edges crisp up again.
Cost per serving is indicative, based on New Zealand supermarket prices as at September 2026. Batch prices your own week against your own store on the day. Nutrition figures, including calories, are estimates rather than label readings, so always check the packet if you have an allergy. "Notable for" reflects well-established qualities of the ingredients used, not a lab measurement of this exact dish.