This Mediterranean inspired traybake is a winner, winner chicken dinner!
It’s no secret that I really hate washing up and the less dishes I have to wash the better! This traybake then is my absolute dream because not only is there minimum washing up – just the tray and the spoon – but there’s minimal prep too!
This traybake is on budget because it uses chicken thighs rather than the breast and even David who is a (chicken) breast man, loves this dish because in this recipe, the chicken absorbs all the flavours of the sauce and is just so tender and juicy!
It’s also super versatile because you can use whatever veggies you have to hand. My go to are green beans and asparagus. For a more Mediterranean feel add courgettes and peppers (I added a yellow courgette in this version) and if you want to have more of a roast dinner vibe, add traditionally English veg like sliced carrots and parsnips. Bear in mind though, if you’re adding root vegetables, they’ll need longer to cook so add them to the pan with the chicken. There are so many possibilities and so much nom!
The real reason I love this traybake though is that it’s easy enough to make midweek but yet delicious enough to serve when entertaining. Best of all with such little prep and so little attention needed in this recipe, I get to spend more time with my guests and less time in the kitchen – although to be fair in our now-not-so-new house the kitchen and dining is all in one so I can multi task by cooking and socialising all at the same time.
Back to the washing up, when I entertain I hate to be surrounded by mess (especially in a kitchen/diner situation) and always like to clean as I go and will often do some washing up/dishwasher loading after dinner. I just can’t face attending to all the clearing up after my guests leave because I’m a bit weird and can’t go to bed until the kitchen is all clean and tidy.
Anyhoo, once I listened to the podcast Your Cake Dealer about dinner etiquette and they said that clearing up while guests are in situ is a big no no. I was horrified for all the clearing up I’d done in the past and all the very late night clearing up I’d be doing in the future. At least this dish will please the guests and ease the work for me!
So tell me, how do you feel about cleaning up when entertaining? Do you like to clean everything up the night of or do you prefer to face it fresh in the morning?
Ingredients
1kg (approx 8) boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1-2 tablespoons plain flour
500g baby potatoes, halved
2 tablespoons oil
1 red onion, cut into wedges
1 lemon, cut into wedges
4 teaspoons dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
300ml chicken stock
100ml white wine
100g diced bacon or pancetta
200g green beans, trimmed and halved
bunch of asparagus
2 generous tablespoons kalamata olives (optional)
How to
- Preheat oven to 220C/200C fan-forced.
- Place the flour in a large bowl, add the chicken and toss the chicken thighs in the flour. Shake off any excess flour and set aside.
- Place the potatoes into the roasting tin, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the oil, season well and toss to coat. Bake for 20 minutes until they start to crisp up.
- Place the chicken thighs in the tray with the potatoes. Place the onion and lemon wedges around the chicken pieces along with the garlic and bacon bits and sprinkle over 2 teaspoons of the oregano.
- Drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and bake for another 20 minutes.
- Stir in the remaining two teaspoons of oregano into the chicken stock. Add the green beans, asparagus and olives if using. Pour over the chicken stock and the wine and bake for another 20 minutes until the chicken is golden and cooked through.
