Spice Roasted Chicken with Pumpkin and Pomegranate Molasses

Preheat the oven to 180˚C.

Chicken: Cut the chicken down both sides of the backbone then the breast bone, to give you two pieces. Discard the backbone.

Whisk all the remaining ingredients, except the pumpkin, together and season.

Place the chicken on a large lined baking tray and brush all over with the paste and sprinkle with a little salt. Cut the pumpkin into 2 cm thick wedges and scoop out the seeds. Brush with olive oil, season and place around the chicken on the tray.

Bake for 40 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked, basting occasionally with the pan juices and turning the pumpkin once during cooking. Remove the pumpkin if it is cooked before the chicken.

Dressing: Whisk the molasses, oil, lemon juice, cinnamon and garlic together and season.

To serve: Place the chicken and pumpkin on a large serving platter. Spoon the dressing over everything and scatter with the almonds and herbs. 

Pantry note: Look for roasted, skin-on almonds in the loose bins at the supermarket.

Pomegranate molasses is a thick syrup produced by cooking down pomegranate juice. It is a slightly astringent, sweet-sour condiment used widely throughout the Eastern Mediterranean. Available from some supermarkets, Asian and gourmet food stores.