Chicken is a cheap and versatile meat for home-cooking, and pairs perfectly with a range of flavours.
A mixture of healthy vegetables is a great option for serving alongside juicy chicken, as Mary Berry has demonstrated with her “easy peasy one-pot chicken”.
As debuted in her cookbook, Mary Makes It Easy, the beloved British chef described the dish as a “healthy and hearty all-in-one dish”.
Mary serves the chicken with onion, fennel, and pepper, but the versatile nature of the recipe lends itself to almost any substitutions.
Try potatoes, beetroot, courgette, leeks or experiment with different fresh herbs like basil for an Italian taste.
Method
This one-pot recipe is easy for two reasons; its simple ingredients and the fact it cooks in a single pan. Plus, the vegetables can be prepared ahead of time – just bring them back to the boil before adding the chicken and leaving to cook in the oven.
Before preparing the dish, preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Next, heat the oil in a deep-lidded casserole or large, lidded, ovenproof frying pan over high heat on the hob.
Add the thinly sliced onion, fennel and diced pepper and fry for about four minutes, stirring regularly. Add the crushed garlic and fry for a further 30 seconds. Now pour in the wine and boil to reduce the liquid by half.
Stir in the chopped tomatoes, sun-dried tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce, then season everything generously with salt and black pepper.
Meanwhile, take the whole chicken and place it upside down on a board. Remove the backbone by cutting either side of the bone with scissors. Turn over and press down on the breastbone to flatten the bird; it is now a spatchcock chicken.
For extra flavour, arrange the lemon slices and bay leaves over the chicken. Next, put the chicken, breast-side up, on top of the vegetables in the casserole or frying pan. Season with salt and pepper once more and bring up to a boil.
Cover with a lid and transfer to the oven for 35 minutes. Remove the lid, sprinkle the paprika over the chicken and drizzle with the honey.
Return to the oven to cook uncovered for 30 minutes to brown and finish cooking. When fully cooked, the chicken will have no trace of pink remains and the juices will run clear.
To serve, spoon the vegetables onto a hot platter and joint or carve the chicken before arranging the chicken on top of the vegetables.
