Cooking with Sarah Boorer
Mike Jeffreys is joined by Sarah Boorer, Communications professional & CWA award-winning cook, to look at the world of baked goods, delicious treats and & easy recipes.
This week Sarah whips up Mediterranean Baked Chicken Dinner (recipe courtesy recipetineats)
Ingredients
MARINADE / SAUCE
1kg / 2lb bone in, skin on chicken thighs and drumsticks (Note 1)
1/2 cup (125 ml) lemon juice
6 cloves garlic , minced
2 tsp Dijon mustard (Optional – Note 2)
2 tbsp honey or 1 tbsp sugar (or maple or other sweetener)
1 tbsp dried oregano
1.5 tsp paprika
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp EACH salt and pepper
BAKE
5 smallish potatoes (7.5cm/3" wide), quartered (Note 3)
2 red onions , quartered
1 cup (250ml) chicken broth/stock , low sodium
250g/8oz cherry tomatoes (whole)
1/2 tsp EACH salt and pepper
1 tbsp Olive oil (or oil spray)
Fresh oregano , for garnish (optional)
Instructions
Mix Marinade ingredients in a bowl, then add chicken and toss to coat. If time
permits, marinate for 24 hours, otherwise proceed to next step.
Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
Place potatoes and onion in baking pan, top with chicken.
Pour over the chicken stock then marinade from the bowl.
Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from oven.
Scatter over cherry tomatoes, drizzle everything with 1 tbsp olive oil, sprinkle
with salt and pepper.
Bake for a further 30 – 35 minutes until chicken is golden and potatoes are
cooked.
Remove from oven, garnish with fresh oregano if using and serve!
Recipe Notes:
1. Chicken – To make this with other cuts of chicken:
– Boneless skinless thigh fillets: Add the chicken into the pan 20 minutes into the
baking time. If you leave it in for the whole time per the recipe, they will overcook.
– Chicken breast: not recommended, because there is a high risk of being dry and
the cook time is very variable. However, it can be done – just add the chicken for the
last 20 minutes of bake time.
2. The Dijon mustard adds another slight layer of flavour into the sauce and also
thickens it. But the dish can be made without it.
3. Potato size – choose potatoes around 7.5cm/3" wide, so once quartered they are
the right size so they will cook through. If using large potatoes, cut into 3.5cm/1.3"
cubes
4. General notes:
Marinating – benefits from marinating but not critical. Sauce has so much
flavour (and there's lots of it) it compensates;
Pan size – ingredients should fit snugly. If they are too spaced out, too much of
the liquid will evaporate while baking and you won't end up with much sauce.
8. Potatoes – cut the potatoes to about 2.5 cm / 1" cubes to ensure they cook
through in time.
9. Nutrition per serving, assuming 4 servings (2 drumsticks per person).
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