Recipe | Spanish-inspired chicken tray bake

A recipe post is long overdue and I really should share more of what I cook… as it usually goes down well – both at home and an on socials.

I absolutely love Spanish food and currently spend a good proportion of the time thinking about all the delicious food and drink I'll be having in Madrid next month. Patatas a lo pobre is one of my go-to side dishes and I often cook that with chicken legs or thighs. And it’s chicken thighs you’ll need for this recipe too – with the addition of chorizo (a dream combo in my eyes).

You can't beat a one-pot (or in this case, tray) dish, and while this is bang it all in and hope for the best, it’s tried and tested, tasty Spanish-inspired flavours – so will always work! Even the smell of it cooking is divine, so you're going to love this. Trust me, it tastes better than it looks!

I paired this dish with one of my Good Pair Days wines – Delincuente Macabeo – a crisp white wine. I personally always serve white wine or rosé with chicken, so a nice Spanish rosado would also work here. You could even go with a Rioja, or something sparkling… just make sure you're pairing it with a Spanish wine.

Spanish-inspired chicken tray bake (serves 4)

Ingredients

• 100g chorizo, diced
• 2 red peppers, diced
• 450g jersey royals, halved
• 8 cloves of garlic, peeled (and left whole)
• 4 chicken thighs
• ½ tsp chilli flakes
• 2 tsp paprika
• Pinch of saffron

Method

• Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan or gas mark 6). Put a frying pan on a medium heat, add a drizzle of oil and the chorizo. Fry for 2-3 minutes or until the chorizo has started to colour and the oil is orange. Tip into a baking tray.
• Add the peppers, potatoes and garlic to the tray. Season and add the saffron, paprika and chilli flakes. Stir to combine.
• Add the chicken thighs skin side up and brush with oil.
• Cook for 40 minutes (or until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is nicely brown). Remove from the oven and cover in tinfoil. Leave for 10 minutes.
• Serve and enjoy.

I served this as it is, but you could always add a green salad or mop up the tasty juices with some sourdough or crusty bread. This was an absolute winner and even Alfie enjoyed it (and ate the peppers!). It was such a hit, I knew I had to share the recipe and it’s something I'll be making more frequently.

Best of all, you can easily customise this recipe to suit your tastes and preferences. Switch out the potatoes for butter beans, use mixed peppers instead of red, or even add some onion or other veg. You could always use less garlic, or crush it and add it with the rest of the seasonings… I think I had five out of the eight cloves when I served this out, but love the sweet taste when it’s been roasted.

Let me know if you give this a go or tag me in your photos on social using the hashtag #LoveLucyRecipe.

¡Buen provecho!

Love, Lucy xx