Roast chicken and butternut for Summer bodies

Summer has officially arrived here in Cape Town and close on its heels comes my fear of bumping into the gorgeous Tanit Phoenix on Clifton 2. The woman, much like many of the other perfectly sculpted beings found at that beach, manages to mix the childlike joy that playing on the shore brings, with that effortless appeal that can only be achieved if a little person with an airbrush was strapped to your back. 

Unfortunately they were out of stock of airbrushing foot soldiers in my size, so instead, I face my fears like the Karate Kid (the original 80's version) with regular exercise and the ABS Diet. You and I both know that Mr. Kesuke Miyagi would've read Men's Health. So hush!!

This baked chicken, butternut and greens was what I conjured with the lean-protein-whole-carbs mantra. It's not just quick and REALLY easy, but it also tastes good. BE WARNED: These are the measurement of a flailing cook, so use a smidgen of sense when you try this out. 

You will need: 

1 small butternut

free range chicken pieces 

lemon

a packet of mixed spinach, watercress and rocket leaves

black pepper corns

dry red chillies

1 clove garlic, crushed

salt

honey

olive oil

Slice the butternut into 1cm disks and scoop out any of the seeds. Chop chicken into singular portion-sized pieces and remove the skin. Rinse and allow any excess water to run off. In a pestle and mortar, bash the daylights out of a teaspoon of black pepper corns with one dry red chilli. In two separate bowls, mix the butternut with the spices with a sprinkle of salt and olive oil. Place these cheerful rounds onto a baking sheet and drizzle with a bit of honey. Add the rest of the spices to the chicken with the crushed clove of garlic, salt to taste and some olive oil. Place chicken into a dish of your choice and squeeze a lemon cheek over the pieces before popping the lemon into the dish and covering with foil. 

Preheat oven to 200˚C and place the chicken in for 60mins and butternut in for 30mins remembering to remove the foil on the chicken when you put the butternut in. Serve with crisp leaves and Bob's your uncle!