Roasted Chicken Drumsticks with Pumpkin

We saw the first pumpkin of the season at the market yesterday and bought a package of peeled and chopped, ready to cook pumpkins. I knew what to cook with them just when I saw them: Roasted Chicken Drumsticks with Pumpkin. The most common way of cooking pumpkin in Turkish cuisine is making this Pumpkin Dessert. It is a very soft, light yet so scrumptious dessert, a perfect treat to end your Fall dinners. This crispy Pumpkin Dessert Candy Version is another option to satisfy your sweet tooth. Using pumpkin in savory dishes is not very common here, but I do love to try it in different dishes and it goes amazingly tasty with roasted chicken drumsticks.

How can a classic Roasted Chicken Drumsticks recipe become unique and even more irresistible? You should have some additions, right? The combination of pumpkin and chicken is unbeliavable! Pumpkin slices almost absorbed the chicken flavor and turned into a completely different food, no longer a boring vegetable. Even Yusuf found it so yummy and told that we should definitely make it again. I used garlic and fresh rosemary to give it some distinct flavors.

Let me share a secret with you! I added Homemade Pomegranate Molasses to chicken stock and pour it on drumsticks and pumpkin slices to enrich the flavors even more! It also gives a very nice color to the dish. I loved the color of this molasses so much that I couldn’t help drizzling a little on the chicken and pumpkin when serving. Don’t you think it looks so charming this way? So happy to find a new dish to add in pomegranate molasses, my favorite dressing!

I first cook chicken in a non stick pot with little water until it releases water, I had a little chicken stock this way. I transfered the drumsticks in a baking pan and pour the stock into a bowl. I saute pumpkin slices in the same pot for about 5 minutes and put them in the baking pan too. Then the funny part comes! Pour chicken stock in the same pot, cook it over medium high heat for a minute. Add pomegranate molasses into it and watch how it caramelizes a little. Drizzle it right over chicken and pumpkin and cook in oven for 20 minutes so that you get this lovely color.

Roasted Chicken Drumsticks with Pumpkin could make a wonderful holiday dinner too. Holiday dishes don’t have to be so laborious, do they? I guarantee your family and friends will love these roasted chicken drumsticks with full of flavors!

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Roasted Chicken Drumsticks with Pumpkin

Chicken drumsticks and pumpkin are flavored with rosemary, garlic and pomegranate molasses.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
• Yield: 8

Ingredients

• 8 chicken drumsticks
• ½ cup water
• 500g pumpkin, peeled and cut into finger size slices
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 8 cloves garlic
• A few sprigs rosemary
• 1 tsp pomegranate molasses
• ½ tsp salt
• A pinch of ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 200C.
2. Wash chicken drumsticks and place them in a non stick pan.
3. Pour ½ cup water into it, cover and cook over medium high heat until chicken releases water.
4. Bring it to medium low heat and keep cooking until tender.
5. Transfer them in a baking pan.
6. Pour that little stock in a bowl.
7. Heat half of the olive oil in the same pot.
8. Saute pumpkin slices in it for 5 minutes.
9. Transfer them in the baking pan.
10. Toss in rosemary leaves and garlic cloves.
11. Sprinkle salt and black pepper on them.
12. Heat rest of the olive oil in the pot and pour the stock into it.
13. Add in pomegranate molasses and cook until a little caramelized, about 5 minutes.
14. Drizzle it over chicken and pumpkin.
15. Cook in oven for 20 minutes until golden.
16. Serve hot.