Baked chicken with citrus, fennel and white wine
1 HOUR 15 MINUTES + OVERNIGHT MARINATING
SERVES 4 | EASY |
LC GF
Sardinians love to braise meat with olives, to impart a delicious, olive-scented saltiness. They also love to cook fennel beneath braising meat, so that the vegetable becomes soft and sweet from the meat juices. This chicken traybake – which is based on a brilliant Nigella Lawson recipe, a favourite when I lived in England – gets the Sardinian treatment, and it’s now a staple in our home.
Seville orange 1, zested and juiced (or
lemon and 1 orange, zested and juiced)
dijon mustard 3 tsp
extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
sea salt flakes 2 tsp
fennel seeds 2 tsp
white wine 650ml
fennel bulbs 2, fronds reserved to serve
chicken thighs 8
green olives a handful 4 tbsp, plus extra
• Whisk together the citrus zest and juice, mustard, oil, salt, fennel seeds and wine. Slice each fennel bulb into quarters lengthways, and then each quarter lengthways into three pieces. Put the chicken, fennel slices and the marinade in a bowl, then cover and chill for a couple of hours, or preferably overnight.
• Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Tip everything into a large roasting tin, arranging the chicken skin-side up on top. Scatter over the olives. Drizzle extra oil on top of the chicken, to help it brown. Cook in the oven for 1 hour or until the chicken is brown and the fennel tender.
• Remove from the oven and reduce the sauce for a minute or two, either by placing the whole tin over the hob, or decanting the liquid to a separate pan – it should become a delicious sticky gravy consistency.
• Serve with the sauce drizzled over, and some fresh fennel fronds on top.
PER SERVING 414 KCALS | FAT 20.4G
SATURATES 3.9G | CARBS 7.1G | SUGARS 6.1G
FIBRE 0.8G | PROTEIN 24.2G | SALT 3.3G
MALLOREDDUS ALLA CAMPIDANESE
Rich, meaty and packed with herbs and tomatoes, this Sardinian sausage ragu comes with an exotic whiff of saffron. Served with the island’s famous pasta shape (little ridged nuggets called malloreddus), it’s a must-try.