54 • The Sunday Times Magazine

LUKE ALBERT FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES MAGAZINE. PROPS: RACHEL VERE

The Dish

SHARE AND SAVE

You can share and

save recipes from

our digital editions

E

ven if cooking is a huge part

of your life, there are times

when dialling in a takeaway or

grating a pile of cheese onto bread,

splashing it with Worcestershire

sauce and shoving it under the

grill is as much effort as we can

or should muster.

Then there are those days —

and for me they usually fall

midweek — when you really want

something homemade for dinner,

something good and warming

that bookends the day and fills the

kitchen with delicious smells, but

which doesn’t require giving up

much of your evening or, crucially,

create too much washing up.

That is where the trusty

traybake comes in. I fall back on

some version of a roasting-tin

meal at least once a week, and the

recipes on these pages are an edit

of some of my favourites from the

past year: two meaty, one vegan.

They are all seriously good eating

but the sort of thing that once

piled into warm bowls, rewards

you rather disproportionately

given the effort you’ve put in.

Such is the beauty of bringing

compatible ingredients together

in a baking tray and letting them

get to know one another.

When you crave a comforting meal without the faff,

rustle up a traybake and let the roasting tin work its magic

For simple suppers

first reach for a tin

Rosie Birkett

1

Saucy chicken

thighs with

honey, lemon

and thyme

This recipe is irresistibly simple,

but also special enough to warrant

making for Sunday lunch or a more

memorable dinner. It delivers

crispy chicken, honeyed parsnips

and a rich, creamy sauce in one

effortless tray. You could easily

add mushrooms or a slice or two

of stale bread, which soak up the

sauce to become custardy on

the underside and crispy on top.

Almonds also work well if you

want to add some crunch, and

use those little jarred cornichons

if you’re out of capers.

SERVES

4 people

INGREDIENTS

8 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs

4 round shallots, peeled and halved

crossways

8 sprigs of thyme or 1 tsp dried

thyme or oregano

2 tbsp capers

6 cloves of garlic, peeled

400g parsnips, peeled and halved or

quartered, depending on thickness

Zest of ½ lemon, pared and

finely sliced

1 tbsp olive oil

For the cream sauce

200ml double cream

100ml madeira or sherry

2 tbsp runny honey

1 tsp Dijon mustard

Juice of 1 lemon

A big handful of tarragon or

flat-leaf parsley leaves

01 Heat the oven to 200C

(220C non-fan).

02 Add the chicken to a large

roasting tray with the shallots,

thyme, capers, garlic, parsnips and

lemon zest. Season well with salt

and pepper and drizzle over the

olive oil, giving it all a good mix

to coat. Roast for 30 min until the

chicken is starting to look golden.

03 Meanwhile, whisk together the

cream, madeira or sherry, honey,

mustard, lemon juice and tarragon

or parsley with a good pinch of salt.

04 Once the 30 min is up, pour

the sauce over the parsnips and

around but not over the chicken

(we don’t want to scupper that

gorgeous crispy skin), then roast

for a further 15-20 min until the

skin is crispy and the parsnips are

tender and caramelised.

05 Remove from the oven and rest

for 5 min. Serve with orzo, potatoes

or noodles and green beans.

Photographs by Luke Albert