Guest chef Belinda Jeffery’s one-pan chicken

The chicken and potatoes in this lovely one-pan dish are slightly crusty with a deep, smoky flavour from the paprika.

Deep crust: squeeze the roasted garlic over all of it

This lovely dish is based on a recipe in Darina Allen’s gem of a book, One Pot Feeds All. The chicken and potatoes are slightly crusty with a deep, smoky flavour from the paprika. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves from their skins onto it all – so delicious!

Belinda Jeffery

ONE-PAN CHICKEN WITH MARJORAM, SMOKED PAPRIKA, POTATOES & TAHINI YOGHURT

700g Dutch cream (or other waxy) potatoes, peeled

1 medium-size brown onion, sliced into 8-10 wedges

8 chicken thigh cutlets, skin on

3 bay leaves, plus extra to garnish

2 packed tablespoons finely chopped fresh marjoram

16 fat cloves garlic, unpeeled

2 finely chopped chillies, optional

1/3 cup (80ml) extra-virgin olive oil

¼ cup (60ml) lemon juice

1½ tablespoons smoked paprika

2 teaspoons sea salt flakes

Freshly ground black pepper

Tahini yoghurt

1 cup (280g) Greek-style yoghurt

1 dessertspoon tahini

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

¾ teaspoon sea salt flakes

50ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus a little extra to garnish

Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat your oven to 230C (210C fan). Line a large baking tray with baking paper. The size of the tray is important: if it’s too small, the chicken and potato will stew rather than roast. If you’re unsure, err on the side of caution and divide ingredients evenly between 2 trays.

Cut the potatoes into fat wedges. Tumble them into a large bowl and add the onion wedges, chicken, bay leaves and marjoram. Prick each clove of garlic with a fine skewer (this will stop them exploding in the oven) and add to the bowl, along with the chilli, if using. Trickle over the olive oil and add the lemon juice, smoked paprika, and salt and pepper to taste. Use your hands to thoroughly mix everything together. Spread the mixture in a single layer in the baking tray (or trays), sitting the chicken skin-side up and making sure it’s not crowded.

Roast for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 180C (160C fan) and roast for another 30-35 minutes or until the chicken skin is bronzed and the potato is golden with crisp edges. Meanwhile, to make the tahini yoghurt, put the yoghurt, tahini, garlic and salt into a bowl and mix together. Drizzle in the olive oil, whisking all the while, until the mixture is homogenised. Taste and add more salt if needed. Scrape into a serving bowl, cover and set aside in a cool spot until ready to use. Garnish with a soupçon of oil and pepper just before serving.

Remove tray from the oven and transfer everything to a large serving platter. Garnish with bay leaves and serve with tahini yoghurt. Serves 6

A Year of Sundays

Edited extract from A Year of Sundays by Belinda Jeffery (Simon & Schuster Australia, $45). Photography: Rodney Weidland