Getting dinner on the table doesn’t have to mean spending hours in the kitchen or leaving a mountain of dishes behind.
Chef and cookbook author Danielle Alvarez is sharing a simple one-tray chicken and potato bake, featuring crispy chicken, golden potatoes and a delicious fennel, honey and lemon dressing.
Served with a fresh iceberg and feta salad, it’s an easy meal the whole family can enjoy.
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Fennel-spiced chicken & potato tray bake
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 chicken marylands (chicken leg quarters)
1 tablespoon honey
fine sea salt
800 g (1 lb 12 oz) Dutch cream potatoes (or any other variety that is a good mix of waxy and starchy)
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1 lemon
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Spiced oil
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds
1 teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika
Method
1. An uber simple recipe that consists of whacking everything onto a baking tray and letting the oven do the work. Adding the spices a bit later during roasting ensures they don’t burn.
2. Serve with a lovely green salad for a complete and easy meal.
3. Preheat your oven to 250°C (480°F) conventional (230°C/450°F fan-forced).
4. Rub the chicken with the honey, then season with salt and leave at room temperature until your oven is fully heated.
5. Peel the potatoes and cut each one into about 6–8 thick wedges.
6. In a small dish, combine the spiced oil ingredients.
7. Zest the lemon and add the zest to the spiced oil. Thinly slice half the lemon and reserve the other lemon half to squeeze over the dish at the end.
8. Place the chicken, skin side up, on a large unlined baking tray. Add the potato wedges and lemon slices; everything should fit snugly but not be overlapping. Drizzle the olive oil all over the chicken and potatoes, rubbing it in to make sure everything is evenly coated. Season the potatoes with salt.
9. Transfer to the oven and roast for 30 minutes. Brush the chicken skin with the spiced oil, then roast for a further 15–20 minutes, until the chicken skin is browned and crispy and the potatoes are tender. (If needed, remove the chicken from the oven and leave the potatoes in to brown for a further 10 minutes.)
10. When the chicken comes out of the oven, squeeze the juice of the remaining lemon half over it. Allow to rest for at least 5 minutes before serving with a fresh green salad.
Shredded Iceberg, Dill & Feta Salad Ingredients
2 tablespoons chardonnay vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
2 teaspoons honey
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
Salt and black pepper
1/2 iceberg lettuce, shredded (about 4 cups)
1/4 cup loosely packed chopped dill
3 spring onions (scallions), white and green parts, very thinly sliced
150 g (5 1/2 oz) Greek feta
Method
1.. Of all the quintessentially Greek salads, this is my favourite. Similar to a maroulosalata, it conjures up daydreams of dining seaside on a Greek island. It’s also as easy as it gets – a bit of chopping, a little mixing, then simply tossing everything together. Enjoy as a side dish, or add some grilled protein for a complete meal.
2. In a large salad bowl, combine the vinegar, honey, olive oil and shallot with a pinch of salt. Stir to combine, then set aside to infuse while you gather the remaining ingredients.
3. Add the lettuce, dill and spring onion to the bowl, on top of the dressing. Crumble the feta on top and toss to combine, being sure to scoop up from the bottom so the dressing gets mixed in.
4. Season with salt and black pepper and serve.