Creamy pot roast chicken

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. In a bowl, mix the butter with the diced chilli, parsley, crushed garlic and grated zest of the lemon. Ease the skin away from the chicken breasts with your fingers, starting from the neck end. Spoon in the butter, smoothing the skin with your fingers to cover the breasts evenly.
2. Season the chicken inside and out. Halve the lemon, squeeze the juice inside, then put the halves inside. Tie the legs with string.
3. Put a flameproof casserole over a medium-high heat with the knob of butter and the oil. Add the shallot and fry, stirring, for 5 minutes until softened. Add the sliced chilli and garlic for the final 2 minutes.
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4. Add the pumpkin or squash and stir. Nestle the chicken in among the veg. Pour over the wine and bubble for 2 minutes or until reduced by half. Add stock to halfway up the side of the chicken (you may not need it all). Bring to the boil, cover, then cook in the oven for 1 hour.
5. Uncover, then cook for a further 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and golden and the juices from the thigh run clear when pierced with a skewer.
6. Remove the chicken to a serving dish to rest, loosely covered with foil. Return the pot to the hob, skim off any fat from the surface, then bubble for 5 minutes to reduce the juices a little. Stir in the crème fraîche, adjust the seasoning, then spoon around the chicken and scatter with tarragon.
7. Carve into pieces at the table and serve with the juices and squash spooned over, with crusty bread for mopping up the juices.