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.

Poulet Basquaise - Chicken from Pays Basque

Pays Basque is a region in the south western part of France which continues across the border into Spain (as in map). It is a region that has a unique culture and lovely Mediterranean cuisine. Poulet basquaise is one such delicacy from this part of the world. The Meditarranean flavour appeals to our Indian taste buds and is perfect for our climate too. I recently made it for a mixed group of Indians and French people and it was a hit with both. 

The following recipe makes enough for a group of 6 adults.

What you need?

• 1 kg chicken, cut into pieces and marinated for about an hour in oregano, salt and piment d'espellette (paprika powder from Pays Basque)
• 2 large capsicums each of green, yellow and red colour chopped in thin slices
• 750 gms tomatoes chopped in small pieces (blanched and peeled)
• 3 large red onions in long slices
• 1 tomato puree or add another 250 gms tomatoes (blanched and peeled)
• 6 pods of garlic (or more if you really like garlic)
• Some Balsamic Vinegar (the recipe I looked at asks to add white wine, since I didn't have any I added my favourite ingredient).
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• A nice bunch of fresh corainder
• Olive oil to cook

How?

• Put some olive oil in a thick bottomed pot and cook the garlic and onions till golden, then add the red, yellow and green capsicum and cook for 10 minutes. 
• Add the chopped tomatoes and let it simmer for about 15 minutes.
• In the meantime, cook the chicken in a shallow pan till white, take off fire and keep aside.
• Add chicken pieces to the capsicum tomato mixture and add the tomato puree and let it cook on low heat for about 30 minutes. Keep stirring.

And your Poulet Basquaise is ready. It is usually eaten with a side of rice and green salad.
Enjoy your Mediterranean meal!