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1
Using a big sturdy knife, carefully half the rutabaga by stabbing the knife into it and putting your weight down on the knife (keeping your fingers well out of the way) then remove the skin by placing it cut side down and paring away small pieces of the hard skin away in a downward action following the shape of the vegetable, along with any slightly green/lighter coloured parts beneath the skin.
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2
You should be left with only the inner yellow/orange part.
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3
Chop the rutabaga into bite size pieces.
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4
Peel and roughly chop the onion.
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5
In a large pot, add the rutabaga, onion, stock, garlic powder and butter.
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6
Bring the pot to the boil, put on a lid and cook for 20 minutes.
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7
Heat the oven to gas mark 6 (UK) / 200 C
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8
Meanwhile, season both sides of the chicken thighs.
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9
Go easy with the salt, as the bacon could be salty!
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10
Lay out a big piece of cling film and lay two pieces of bacon together for each chicken thigh.
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11
You may want to use the back of a heavy kife to stretch/flatten the bacon if it is thickly cut.
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12
Place the chicken thighs onto the bacon, outer (smooth) side of the thighs facing downwards.
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13
Place a piece of Edam cheese about the length and width of your thumb onto each chicken thigh, at the end nearest to you.
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14
Roll up the whole thing using the cling film to guide you and holding onto the ends of the bacon so it doesn't get rolled inside.
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15
Use two cocktail sticks per chicken thigh to secure the bacon in a criss cross.
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16
In a skillet/ frying pan, heat the oil or bacon fat over a medium heat.
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17
Brown the chicken thigh roll ups on all sides then place them in a roasting tin.
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18
Bake for 30 minutes, maybe longer if the thighs are on the large side (don't worry if the cheese melts, as the crispy bits are delicious with the saucy sauce!)
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19
Remove the lid from the rutabaga and turn the heat up a bit to let the stock reduce until it is almost gone (you will want some as it makes a sauce for the meal)
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20
Take the chicken out and when you are certain it's cooked through, rest it for a few minutes.
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21
Remove all the cocktail sticks.
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22
Serve two chicken thighs per (hungry) person with some rutabaga and stock/sauce.
