One of those wonderful one-tray, bang-it-in meals. You get so much lovely flavour from chicken thighs and they don’t dry out like their breasty mates. Skip the potatoes and serve with rice or couscous instead or shred it all up and whack it in a flour tortilla for a little fajita vibe. Lazy cooking at its best for when you really can’t be arsed. (You can even skip the making your own seasoning bit if you want – just get a readymade one and sprinkle to your heart’s content.)
Feed your appetite for cooking with Penguin’s expert authors
Spicy Chicken and Cashew Traybake
Versatile and full of flavour, Candice Brown's chicken and cashew traybake is the perfect thing to spice up your repertoire.
From the book
Happy Cooking: Easy uplifting meals and comforting treats
A cookbook to lift the spirits and soothe the soul
Packed with nourishing and restorative recipes
From nostalgic comfort dishes to indulgent bakes
Buy From
Introduction from Candice Brown
Ingredients
olive oil
8
chicken thighs
1
yellow pepper, deseeded and sliced
1
red pepper, deseeded and sliced
1
red onion, chopped
2
red chillies, finely chopped
10
cherry tomatoes, halved
6
garlic cloves, peeled
3
sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into wedges
150g
chorizo, skin removed and cut into 3mm slices
Drizzle
of honey
150g
green or black olives, pitted
200g
cashew nuts
soured cream, to serve
For the Cajun Spice Mix
2 tbsp
smoked paprika
½ tbsp
cayenne pepper
½ tsp
salt
1 tsp
chilli flakes
1 tbsp
garlic salt
1 tbsp
freshly ground black pepper
½ tbsp
onion powder
½ tbsp
dried oregano
½ tbsp
dried thyme
½ tbsp
cumin seeds
Essential kit
You will need: a large baking tray and a clean, dry jar.
Method
Preheat the oven to 160°C fan (180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4).
Add all the Cajun spice mix ingredients to a clean, dry jar, put on the lid and give it a really good shake. You will have more seasoning than you need for this recipe, but it will keep for about six months.
Drizzle some olive oil over a large baking tray and swirl it around to coat the tray.
Put the peppers, onion, chillies, tomatoes, garlic, sweet potatoes and chorizo into a large bowl. Drizzle over a little oil and give it a good rub and mix. Sprinkle over ½ tablespoon of the Cajun spice mix and give it another good mix. Tip the spiced veg on to the prepared tray and spread out evenly across the tray.
Add the chicken to the bowl and rub in another 1 tablespoon of Cajun spice mix, really massaging it into the chicken. Place the chicken on top of the prepared veg and cook for 15 minutes.
Remove the tray from the oven and, using a fish slice or spatula, give everything a good mix. Return to the oven for a further 15 minutes.
Remove the tray from the oven, drizzle over the honey, sprinkle over the olives and cashews and mix lightly.
Check the chicken and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes. Cooking the chicken skin-side up will give crispy skin if you’re using chicken with the skin on.
Check the chicken is cooked, especially if you are using thighs with the bones in, there should be no pink flesh visible.
Serve the traybake as it is with a bit of everything.
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