THIS week Flintshire cook Charlotte Seddon is sharing a recipe for one of her and husband Rhys’ favourite midweek meals.
The tasty meal serves two and, Charlotte says, the oven does most of the work.
Charlotte, who viewers saw reach the semi-finals of the latest series of the BBC’s MasterChef, says the chicken tray bake should take about 45 minutes to prepare.
Charlotte said: “This is a favourite mid-week meal in our house. My husband both cannot and will not cook, although to be fair it isn’t normally practical for him to try as I’m a little overprotective of the kitchen. However, as I work in Manchester and sometimes can be running late to get dinner started I will call him up and talk him through the prep for this dish on the drive home, once it’s all in the tray the oven does all the hard work. This results in a crowd-pleasing summery dish, which goes well with cous cous and some crusty bread for mopping up the juices.
“Plus, the fact it’s all cooked in one tray means there is less washing up at the end, also a bonus for my husband as this is the one part of the kitchen he is allowed in!”
Ingredients:
• Chicken thighs x5 (skin on and bone in)
• 1 red onion
• 1 pepper (any choice of colour or a mix if you prefer)
• 3 tomatoes
• 4 garlic cloves
• Sprig of thyme
• Sprig of rosemary
• 1 tbsp balsamic Vinegar
• Olive oil
• Chicken seasoning (optional)
• Hot paprika
• Salt and pepper
• 1 lemon
• Cous cous to serve
Method:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees
2. Get a large roasting tray ready to put all your ingredients into
3. Chop the tomatoes into quarters and put them into the tray
4. De-seed the pepper and chop the pepper into large chunks and add to the tray
5. Peel and chop the red onion into large wedges, separate out the petals and add them to the tray
6. Add the whole garlic cloves with the skin on to the tray
7. Add the herb sprigs whole
8. Drizzle the vegetables generously with olive oil and give the tray a shake to make sure the veg is evenly covered
9. Cut the lemon into quarters and give them a light squeeze over the veg and add the lemon quarters into the tray
10. Season the veg generously with salt and pepper, sprinkle over a 1tsp paprika and give the tray another shake to coat the veg evenly
11. Drizzle the veg with 1 ½ tbsp of balsamic vinegar
12. Place the chicken thighs on the chopping board and drizzle lightly with olive oil
13. Sprinkle over the chicken ½ tsp of paprika and ½ tsp of chicken seasoning (if you are not using this you can use Aromat seasoning or salt flakes)
14. Massage the seasoning and oil into the chicken to make sure its evenly coated and place the chicken thighs skin side up on top of the veg
15. Give a last-minute little sprinkle of salt on top of the chicken skin (this will make it extra crispy), ease up on the salt if you prefer
16. Put in the oven and bake for 30minutes
17. Whilst the chicken is cooking make your cous cous according to the packet instructions and if using slice some crusty bread
18. Once the chicken is cooked either remove the rosemary, thyme and lemon pieces or warn your diners to avoid them. Serve in the tray and let everyone dig in.
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