Chicken, lemon and garlic tray bake

I suppose I should have asked for this recipe from Lulu Bonneville, having enjoyed it at a lovely long lunch with her and Hugh (aka Lord Grantham in TV series Downton Abbey). But what I love doing is taking someone’s recipe that I really like and not copying it, but just paying homage with my own version. I love getting recipes from those understated, but really good cooks, who manage to produce something delicious and are also so organised that they are around for the glass of champagne on arrival. They just seem to magic the food up.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 12 chicken thighs, skin on and bone in
• juice of 1-2 lemons
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• small bunch of thyme, leaves stripped from stalks
• 3 zucchinis, cut into thick slices on the diagonal
• 2 fennel bulbs, trimmed and sliced
• 8 new potatoes, scrubbed and cut into thick slices
• sea salt and black pepper

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 200 fan-forced (220C conventional).
2. Add a small amount of the oil to a large frypan and place it over a medium-high heat. Working in batches, fry the chicken thighs for a few minutes until the skin has taken on a deep golden colour. Turn the chicken over and cook for a minute or so on the underside.
3. Mix the lemon juice, garlic, thyme and the rest of the olive oil in a bowl. Arrange the slices of zucchini, fennel and potato in a large roasting tin and pour over two-thirds of the lemon and oil mixture. Toss to coat the vegetables and season with salt and pepper.
4. Arrange the chicken on top, skin-side up, and pour over the remaining lemon and oil mixture. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the chicken skin is crisp and golden and the vegetables underneath are tender. Nice with a green salad or green beans.

Serves 6-8

Last-minute cheat’s tiramisu

Obviously there is nothing that can beat a proper tiramisu, but this is so quick and so lovely, and it really does take just minutes to make.

INGREDIENTS

• 150ml whipping or double cream
• 250g mascarpone, at room temperature
• 40g icing sugar, sifted
• 50ml Baileys or Marsala
• 150ml espresso coffee, cooled
• 8-12 sponge fingers or 4 trifle sponges
• cocoa powder, for dusting or a chocolate flake, crumbled

METHOD

1. Lightly whip the cream in a bowl until it’s only just starting to thicken.
2. Whisk the mascarpone with the Baileys or Marsala to soften, add the icing sugar, then fold into the cream.
3. Pour the coffee into a separate bowl. Dip the sponges into the coffee and then divide half of them between 4 glasses or small bowls.
4. Add half the cream mixture, again dividing it between the bowls, then repeat the layers of sponge and cream. Dust generously with cocoa powder or crumbled chocolate. Refrigerate until ready to serve or serve immediately if making at the last minute.

Serves 4

This is an edited extract from Simple Suppers by Rick Stein, published by BBC Books, RRP $59.99. Photography by James Murphy. Buy now