Mustard Chicken with Summer Vegetables

Convenient and easy to prepare, this dish makes a great complete summer meal. It also allows you to combine the best of the garden into a single dish.

The fennel with its subtle anise taste adds an unexpected flavor twist to the roasted vegetables. The smaller fennel bulbs are less fibrous, but if you have large bulbs, you can peel off the outer layers for more tender pieces. The much underutilized fennel has a storied past. It was reportedly Thomas Jefferson’s favorite vegetable.

Note: When it comes to summer vegetables, the term “new potatoes” is often confusing. They are not a separate variety of potato, but merely immature or younger versions of other varieties. Harvested during the spring and summer, the skin of new potatoes is generally thinner than the skin found on older ones. Not surprisingly, they are rarely peeled before cooking. Because they are small, they blend well with other vegetables and are perfect for roasted dishes.

Mustard Chicken with Summer Vegetables
(Makes 4 servings)

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons stone ground mustard
• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 4 chicken legs, skin removed
• 4 chicken thighs, skin removed
• 1 medium fennel bulb, cut into 1-inch wedges
• 2 small yellow squash, sliced 1 ½-inch thick
• 2 small zucchini, sliced 1 ½-inch thick
• 4 carrots, sliced in half lengthwise
• 4 celery stalks, sliced into 2-inch pieces
• 1 red onion, cut into 1-inch wedges
• 8 whole new red potatoes or 4 small red potatoes, halved
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. In large mixing bowl, whisk together mustard and soy sauce. Add chicken and coat well.
3. In large baking pan, arrange fennel, squash, zucchini, carrots, celery, onion, potatoes, and thyme. Brush vegetables with oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Place chicken over vegetables. Brush chicken with mustard sauce. Cover pan with foil and roast for approximately 50 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender. Remove foil, increase oven temperature to broil and roast another 4-5 minutes to brown vegetables and chicken. Serve.