No matter how much I love cooking, there are days when I want something that’s quick and easy to cook, especially during summer when the weather is nice and I want to be in the garden. For some, this means a barbecue but for me this is where one pot dishes are great. A few ingredients, blended together with little effort, and at the end of the day, you have a delicious meal on the table.
In summer, I tend to favourite dishes that can be marinated for several hours, cooked reasonably quickly and then served with salad and bread. This chicken tray bake is an ideal dish and it’s so easy to vary the ingredients with summer vegetables, herbs and spices. The recipe was borne out of what I had in the fridge together with herbs and salad from the garden. Leaving the chicken to marinate for several hours allows the flavours to develop and penetrate the flesh of the chicken.
Easy chicken tray bake with flavours of the Mediterranean
This makes a great one pot meal, especially during busy weekends, when often we don’t have hours to spend in the kitchen. You will need:- Marinade, 4 tbsp rapeseed oil, 2 tbsp lemon juice, handful of chopped herbs, ( I used rosemary, marjoram, parsley & bay leaf, salt & pepper. Additional ingredients :- 8 chicken thighs, 500g new potatoes, sprig of rosemary, small punnet of cherry tomatoes, 110g/4oz chorizo sausage. (I used venison chorizo from Great Glen Game). Extra chopped herbs for garnishing.
Mix together the marinade ingredients, place in a large plastic bag along with the chicken thighs and set aside to marinate in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours. When ready to cook, Pre heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas 6. Place the chicken, the marinade ingredients and new potatoes in a large roasting tin, add a sprig of rosemary and cook uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, add the tomatoes and chorizo and continue cooking for another 30 minutes until the chicken is cooked.
This is one of this dishes that is ideal for serving straight from the oven for everyone to help themselves. Scatter with some freshly chopped herbs, serve a green salad and crusty bread.
Tips
The ingredients for this dish are easy to vary, depending on the seasons and what you have available. Courgettes and aubergines will work well, as will squash or sweet potatoes. You can also use a different marinade or change the herbs for spices such as cumin, coriander and chilli.