Chicken Summer Tray Bake with Courgettes, Cherry Tomatoes and Chickpeas
Tray bakes can really save the day when it comes to midweek meals.
- prepare
- cook
- 4 servings
- Easy
In this recipe the juices of the roasting chicken thighs add maximum flavour to the chickpeas and vegetables. Adding the whole block of feta to the centre of the tray, rather than crumbling it over the top, results in the cheese being gorgeously soft and fragrant without drying out.
Serve with a salad or crusty bread on the side.
Another way I like to serve this is with pasta – especially handy for stretching the meal to feed more mouths. Simply slice or shred the chicken and roughly chop the feta. Toss it all through short pasta along with plenty of fresh basil and all the tasty pan juices.
You’ll need a nice, really large tray for this or spread all the ingredients across two trays if needed. Having the chicken and vegetables not too crowded will allow everything to brown and cook well.
Ingredients
- 600g chicken thighs
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 3 medium courgettes
- 300g cherry tomatoes
- 1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Handful fresh basil, finely chopped
- 200g block feta
- Salt and pepper for seasoning
- Olive oil for roasting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C.
- Place the chicken thighs in a bowl, drizzle with a glug of olive oil. Add the smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon of the garlic powder and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper. Toss until evenly coated.
- Spread out the chicken on a large, shallow oven tray. Place in the oven and cook for 15 minutes.
- While the chicken is cooking, slice the courgettes lengthways and then cut each length into 3 pieces. Add this to a bowl along with the cherry tomatoes, chickpeas, lemon zest, fresh basil, the remaining teaspoon of garlic powder and a good drizzle of olive oil. Season well. Toss to ensure it is all evenly coated.
- After roasting the chicken for 15 minutes, remove the tray from the oven and scatter the vegetables and chickpeas around the dish, amongst the chicken, leaving space in the middle for the feta.
- Place the block of feta in the centre, drizzle with a little olive oil, a seasoning of cracked pepper (no salt needed) and then place a few tomatoes and chickpeas on top.
- Place back in the oven for another 20 -25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Divide the chicken between the plates, spoon the vegetables and chickpeas alongside and top with a chunk of baked feta.
