Chicken and Harissa Traybake with Tahini Drizzle
Although this is a traybake, it's much jazzier than most and definitely straddles the border of a midweek meal and a fancy feast. It can, if you're a reasonably quick cook, take under an hour to bring together. The tinned tomatoes, here, are the saviour that swoops in at the end to make it all come together. Try serving with couscous or a fresh green salad.
Serves
4-6
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp harissa
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- Zest and juice of 1 lime
- 1kg bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (around 6–8)
- 600g sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 2 red onions, peeled and cut into 8 wedges
- 400g tin chickpeas, drained
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- For the tahini drizzle
- 40g tahini
- 150ml natural yogurt
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/390F/gas 6.
Combine the harissa, one of tablespoon oil and lime zest in a small bowl. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Tip the chicken thighs into a bowl and drizzle over the harissa mixture. Using your hands (wearing gloves, if you need to), mix everything together so that the chicken is fully coated. Set aside.
Tip the sweet potato pieces and red onion wedges into a large roasting tin, drizzle over two tablespoons of oil, season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper and toss everything together. Lay the chicken on top of the vegetables and roast in the hot oven for 20 minutes.
Remove the tray from the oven and scatter around the chickpeas. Give everything a shake and return to the oven. Turn up the oven temperature to 220C/200C fan/430F/gas 7 and roast for a further 15 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven again and pour the tinned tomatoes around the chicken pieces. Mix a little with a spoon and return to the oven for a final 10 minutes.
Combine the tahini and yogurt with the juice of half-to-one lime, to taste. (I love lime, so I add all the juice, but you might like a little less.) Season, mix again and add a splash of water, if needed – it should be thick but also possible to drizzle.
Remove the chicken traybake from the oven and drizzle over the tahini sauce before serving.
