A chicken tray bake to make your midweek dinners a breeze
Although this recipe is a tray bake, it’s much jazzier than most and definitely straddles the border of a midweek meal and a fancy feast.
If there’s one ingredient that is always found in my kitchen cupboard, it’s tinned tomatoes. They’re like a reliable friend you always know will be there when you need them.
The beauty of tinned tomatoes is not only in their flavour and colour but also in their versatility. It’s really no surprise that they’ve become such a big part of our everyday cooking. They allow us to create dishes all year round that use one of the world’s most loved ingredients.
Although this recipe is a tray bake, it’s much jazzier than most and definitely straddles the border of a midweek meal and a fancy feast. It can, if you’re a reasonably quick cook, take under an hour to bring together. The tinned tomatoes, here, are the saviour that swoops in at the end to make it all come together. Try serving it with couscous or a fresh green salad.
Chicken and harissa tray bake with tahini drizzle
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons harissa paste (use a little less if yours is particularly spicy)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Zest and juice of 1 lime
- 1kg (around 6-8) bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 600g sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 2 red onions, peeled and cut into 8 wedges
- 1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained
- 1 × 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- Salt and black pepper
For the tahini drizzle
- 40g tahini
- 150ml natural yogurt
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200C.
- Combine the harissa, 1 tablespoon oil and lime zest in a small bowl. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Tip the chicken thighs into a large bowl and drizzle over the harissa mixture. Using your hands (wearing gloves, if you need to), mix everything together so that the chicken is fully coated. Set aside.
- Tip the sweet potato pieces and red onion wedges into a large roasting tin, drizzle over the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper and toss together. Lay the chicken on top of the vegetables and roast in the oven for 20 minutes.
- Remove the tray from the oven and scatter around the chickpeas. Give everything a shake and return to the oven. Turn up the oven temperature to 220C and roast for a further 15 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven again and pour the tinned tomatoes around the chicken pieces. Mix a little with a spoon and return to the oven for a final 10 minutes.
- Combine the tahini and yogurt with the lime juice, to taste. (I love lime, so I add all the juice, but you might prefer to use a little less.) Season, mix again and add a splash of water, if needed – the consistency should be thick but also possible to drizzle.
- Remove the chicken tray bake from the oven and drizzle over the tahini sauce before serving. Serves 4-6
This is an edited extract from The Tinned Tomatoes Cookbook by Samuel Goldsmith.