I’ve done a lot of chicken tray bakes and never tire of them. I love the freshness that the combo of lemon, dill and oregano bring to this dish along with pops of sweetness from the currants.
Serves: 4-5
INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
8-10 small chicken thighs, bone-in, skin on
sea salt and ground pepper
1 large brown onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1½ teaspoons each dried oregano and dill
½-1 teaspoon chilli flakes
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 bay leaves
400 gram tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
¾ cup long grain rice, washed and drained
2 cups chicken stock
½ cup currants
1 tablespoon runny honey
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1½ cups green olives (I used a mix of large and small olives)
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan bake.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and cook skin side down for 5 minutes until deeply golden. Turn over and cook 1 minute. Transfer to a plate. If needed, drain off excess fat, leaving 2 tablespoons in the pan.
Add the onion, garlic and fennel seeds, season and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the herbs, chilli, lemon zest and juice and the bay leaves then add the chickpeas, rice, stock and the currants. Season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Tip into a large ovenproof baking dish and place the chicken, skin side up, on top along with any juices. Stir the honey and lemon juice together and spoon over the top of the chicken. Cover with a lid or foil and bake for 30 minutes.
TO FINISH: Uncover and add the olives then cook uncovered for 15 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked and the rice is tender.
COOK’S NOTE: If the chicken has a large piece of the backbone attached, I remove it with a cleaver or a sharp knife and just leave the thigh bone in. If you can only get large thighs, reduce the quantity to 5.
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In Dream Escape, we journey from Japan and Morocco to Italy, India and beyond, sharing recipes inspired by travel, heritage and comfort. We celebrate the champions of the Outstanding Food Producer Awards, explore the stories and recipes of chefs shaped by their cultural roots, and warm up with everything from West African soups and slow-braised lamb to porchetta, butter chicken and beef noodle soup. Alongside destination menus, Scandinavian sweets and cosy pub classics, Chrisanne Terblanche shares her favourite street-side dining spots in Bangkok, while Yvonne Lorkin explores red wine varietals. This issue, we invite you to slow down, turn the pages and escape through food.