Summer Dinner Recipe: Provençal Roast Chicken Tray Bake

Our guest writer Jessie (aka mscooksalot) has loved cooking and exploring recipes for as long as she can remember. Passionate about real food, she wants to know what’s in it and where it comes from. She believes that food is one of the greatest pleasures in life and can transform your experiences from the forgettable to the sublime. 

And this is the perfect recipe for a summer soiree. 

This is one of those ridiculously simple dinners that I like to make if we have guests over. It looks beautiful and people usually think that you've put in way more effort than you actually have! It’s inspired by a similar recipe from Nigella, and I like to think I’m channelling my inner Nigella when I make it. Now you can too!

As always, it makes a huge difference if you use the best quality chicken you can afford. I get mine from the lovely butchers in Fallon & Byrne. The legs are only €1 each so they work out at very good value, as I normally serve three pieces, i.e. one and a half legs per person, depending on how hungry you are.

If you leave the chicken out of the fridge for at least an hour before cooking, ideally while it’s marinating, you will speed up the cooking time a bit. I get the butcher to joint or halve the legs for me, so that they are easier to serve. Unwaxed lemons tend to be better all round, and since we're using the zest here it makes sense to look for them.

I got my dried Herbs de Provence in Marks & Spencer, but if you can’t find them, just use a mixture of dried woody herbs like thyme, rosemary, marjoram, sage, oregano and even lavender if you can find it. Or you could look for some lavender honey too, which adds a lovely floral flavour to the finished dish. Don't worry, it doesn’t taste as odd as it sounds!

This recipe could easily be adapted for a whole chicken, although jointing it would help the marinate to get into the meat. If you’re feeling brave, you could even try barbecuing it, just make sure it is cooked thoroughly, and that the juices run clear. It also makes the perfect leftover chicken for a delicious sandwich, should you be so lucky as to have any left!

Serves 4

• Ingredients

6 large free range chicken legs, jointed

1 large unwaxed lemon

4 cloves of garlic

4 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp flaky sea salt

A good grinding of black pepper

1 tbsp of Herbs de Provence

1 tbsp runny honey

1 small sprig of fresh rosemary - optional

125ml of dry rosé wine

4 small red onions

4 large or 8 small floury potatoes - I used small roosters

Bitter salad leaves to serve

• Method

Ideally you should give your chicken at least a few hours to marinate, but if you're stuck for time, even 30 minutes will do.

Smash the garlic cloves but leave the skins on.

Chop the rosemary finely.  Zest and juice the lemon.

Mix the garlic, herbs, lemon zest and juice, wine, olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl or mixing jug.

Pour it into a large Ziploc bag.

Add the chicken pieces and close the bag. Massage it well to make sure the chicken is well coated. Leave to marinate for as long as you can, maximum overnight. If you only have an hour or so, there’s no need to keep it in the fridge. If you’re leaving it for longer, refrigerate it and ideally take it out an hour before you start to cook to let it come back up to room temperature.

Preheat your oven to 220C. Peel and quarter the onions and quarter the potatoes too.

In a large roasting tin, add the onions and potatoes. Add the marinated chicken, and all of the marinade too. Toss everything well and place the chicken on top of the potatoes, skin side up. Add a small sprinkling of sea salt to the skin to help it crisp up.

Bake for at least 45 minutes to an hour, or until the skin is crispy and golden and the potatoes are tender and pierce easily with the tip of a knife. Drizzle a little honey over everything and return to the oven for 5 minutes to let it caramelise.

Serve on a bed of bitter salad leaves. I like rocket and radicchio. You should have plenty of delicious juices in the roasting pan, which make the perfect dressing for this.

Serve immediately. Any leftovers will happily keep in the fridge for a day or two, and can be eaten hot or cold.

Enjoy!

Are you tempted to try out this recipe? Do you have any easy-peasy recipes that never fail to impress? We’d love to hear all about them! In the meantime, check out Jessie’s blog, Ms Cooksalot, for more fab recipes!