I’m sure you’ve experienced it before. There’s 20 minutes to go, five dishes to finish and at least three of them are not going to be done in time. Let’s call them to say it’s going to take a little longer. This is the seemingly unavoidable bundle of stress that comes with cooking for a crowd.
But I’m here to help you. When it comes to main dishes, this braise is quite convenient. While it finishes off in the oven, you can forget about it while you prepare the accompaniments to your main star. I recommend some fragrant rice and a zingy sauce with this one.
Feeds 4-6
Total cost of ingredients at Tesco 17.19 (without salt)
Ingredients
40g Capers
40g Olives
6 cloves Garlic
1 can (400g) Chopped Tomatoes
30g Parsley (chopped)
Chicken Thighs (Bone in Skin on)
1 Red Onion (finely chopped)
80g Tomato paste
Black pepper 1 teaspoon
Salt, to taste
Method
Trim the excess fat off your chicken thighs. Put your excess chicken skin into a cold pan, turn the pan to medium low. Render out the fat from the skin until the skin becomes crispy, set the chicken skins aside.
Add your chicken thighs skin side down. Once golden on one side, flip and cook for four minutes more before removing. The chicken does not have to be fully cooked at this point as it will finish in the oven.
If you find there is too much oil in the pan after the last step, feel free to set some aside. You should have a thin layer of oil covering the pan. Add finely diced onion into your pan and let fry in the rendered fat of the chicken.
Once the onion is translucent, add in your finely chopped garlic and let cook until fragrant. Then add the tomato paste and stir continuously for two more minutes.
After your tomato paste has fried, add in the can of chopped tomatoes and freshly ground black pepper. Add in your finely chopped capers and olives and stir. Let reduce for 15 minutes. If the sauce is already thick, add a splash of water to loosen it.
Preheat your oven to 160 degrees. Cover your pan in tin foil and let cook. Make sure you are using an oven proof pan to cook this dish. After 20 minutes, remove the foil and cook until the chicken turns golden brown and crispy.
Take out the oven (careful, it’s hot!).
Garnish with parsley and enjoy!
Photo by Stefan Vladimirov on Unsplash