Italian Tray Bake

There are just some crazy days when I wish there was a way that I could just dream up a dinner and it would materialize in my kitchen! This recipe is just one step away from it. It takes about five minutes to put together and an hour in the oven later it is a flavorful, wholesome dinner ready to be devoured. Im  eternally grateful to Nigella Lawson for opening up the world of tray bakes for me. There are no real rules to making this dish and I tweak the recipe based on what I have in my fridge.

I have got here a basic structure that you can play with as you please.

What you need:
3 large potatoes unpeeled, cut into 1″ chunks
8 chicken thighs (bone in, skin on)
8 Italian sausages or any sausage you have on hand.

My tray going into the oven

6-7 sprigs rosemary
zest and juice of one lemon (washed)
6-8 large cloves garlic, peeled and cut into chunks
1 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/2 teaspoon table salt)
lots of ground pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

How:

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius. Place prepared potatoes, garlic, chicken and sausages in large mixing bowl.
• Strip all but two or three of the sprigs of rosemary and mince the leaves finely, to get about two teaspoons’ worth of chopped rosemary. Combine rosemary leaves with the lemon zest and juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, and pour over potato/meat mixture in bowl. Toss gently to coat everything with the dressing.
• Spoon this mixture (in a single layer) onto a large, shallow roasting pan (you don’t want it too deep, or it won’t brown nicely). Once you have the chicken (skin up) and sausages evenly nestled in the pan with the potatoes and garlic, tuck the two remaining sprigs of rosemary in. Using the spoon to get the last of the lemony olive oil dressing out of the mixing bowl, drizzle the chicken and sausages with the last drops.
•  Bake for 50 minutes or so, until the chicken and sausages are golden and the potatoes are cooked through.

Ready to eat with a side of a fresh salad!

I have also used mushrooms, onions, carrots, sweet potatoes, peppers, basically anything I had on hand to add to the tray and watched the flavours come alive after being roasted.

Cranberry and Pistachio Biscotti

I have always thought there was something very fancy and un-achievable about Biscotti. Along came Nigella Lawson and showed me otherwise. How I love her!!!

This recipe for Cranberry and Pistachio Biscotti is an absolute breeze to make and it tastes just as fancy and exotic as I imagined it would. Further, Nigella says you can substitute the cranberry and  nuts for anything you have at home; cashew nuts, almonds,hazelnuts, raisins, as long as you match the weight. That makes this the perfect store cupboard treat to whip up to satisfy a craving.

I had so much fun making it and everybody who ate it absolutely loved it!

This recipe is exactly as printed in Nigellissima, I am however tempted to try it with almonds and raisins now.

What you need:

• 1 large egg
• 75g caster sugar
• 2 tsp finely grated orange zest
• 125g plain flour, plus extra for rolling
• ½ tsp baking powder
• nutmeg, for grating
• 75g pistachio nuts
• 50g dried cranberries

Makes about 25

How:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper.
2. Whisk the egg and sugar together until pale and moussy: the mixture should leave a ribbon-like trail when you lift the beater.
3. Beat in the orange zest, then slowly fold in the flour, baking powder and a good grating of nutmeg.
4. Fold in the whole pistachios and dried cranberries, then flour your work surface well. You may find it helpful to dust your hands lightly with flour, too, as the dough is quite sticky.
5. Form the dough into a flattish, oval ciabatta-like loaf, about 25 x 5cm, tapering the ends slightly.
6. Lay the biscotti dough on to the lined baking sheet and cook for 25-30 minutes, or until it’s a pale brown colour. It may help to rotate the baking sheet halfway through. This reduces the risk of the base scorching at one end.
7. Transfer to a wire rack and leave for 5 minutes to harden slightly.
8. Using a bread knife, cut the baked loaf diagonally into fingers about 1cm thick.
9. Put these back on to the lined baking sheet and cook again for another 10 minutes, then turn over the biscotti and cook for 5 minutes more.
10. Leave the golden-brown biscotti to cool on a rack. They store well in an airtight container.