Day 1 - Chicken Dinner but not as we know it

So for day one I've decided to go for a traditional meal but give it a twist.  Take one whole chicken, roast in the oven with veggies and what have you got?  Not quite what you're expecting.  Try a whole chicken given a rub in curry spices, sweet potato, butternut squash and red onion sprinkled with the same spice rub and roasted in the oven served with a mixed green salad with a mango, yoghurt and herb drizzle sauce.  My hubby loved this!  So much he went back for seconds (which he could do guilt free) and then suggested that he would love to have food like this more often.  RESULT!!!


INGREDIENTS:
1 medium whole chicken
1 large sweet potato (peeled and chopped into 2cm chunks)
1/2 butternut squash (peeled, de-seeded and chopped into 2cm chunks)
1 large red onion (peeled and chopped into wedges with the stump of the root intact to hold each wedge together)
1 bag mixed green salad leaves of your choice

For the rub:

2 tbsp medium curry powder
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp ground black pepper and pinch of salt

For the yoghurt mango sauce:
1 red chilli (split down the middle and de-seeded)
small handful of fresh basil leaves
half a small handful of fresh mint leaves
large can of mango drained
large pot of low fat/fat free natural yoghurt
salt and pepper to taste

METHOD:
1) Pre-heat oven to 200*C
2) mix rub ingredients in a small bowl
3) Place veggies in roasting tin and sprinkle over a couple of teaspoons of rub mix (you don't need to add any oil as the chick will give off it's juices to lubricate the tray but if you're worried about stuff sticking a spritz with frylite before you put the veggies in should put your mind at rest).
4) Make a little space in the middle of the tray for the bird.
5) Sprinkle the remaining rub all over the chicken (top and bottom).  Don't forget the legs and wings (cooks treat if no-one else wants them).
6) Place in the middle of the tray surrounded by the veg and roast in a 200*C oven for as long as the instructions on your chicken state (i.e. by weight).  For my 1.5kg bird it took 1 hour 30 mins.
...while the chicken is cooking...
7) in a food processor (in my case a mini one) blitz up the chilli, basil and mint.
8) Add the mango and puree and then add the yogurt and salt and pepper and belnd until smooth.
9) Once the chicken is cooked remove from the oven and tent loosely with the foil and leave to rest for 10 minutes.  By now all the veggies should be caramelised as their natural sugars are released and roasted.
10) Serve slices of the chicken or a whole breast/leg with plenty of veggies and a side of salad.  Then drizzle over the yogurt dressing with a little puddle on the side for dunking (trust me they will want to).

I'm thinking you could make the rub in any way you like.  If you'd rather a BBQ flavour use BBQ spices if you want Thai style use chilli, lemongrass and ginger with soy sauce to marinade the bird for a few hours beforehand.