Nigella Lawson's 'perfect' chicken, chorizo and potato tray bake is 'stress-free' - recipe

Baked chicken thighs with new potatoes, onions and chorizo sausage close-up in a baking dish. horizontal top view

Cooking mid-week can be a chore, especially if you’re not confident in the kitchen.

Rather than spending hours chopping, frying and preparing food, you could try cooking up a traybake.

A traybake usually involves placing all of the ingredients on one tray, putting them in the oven and cooking them at the same time to create a delicious meal.

If you’re looking for a fuss-free mid-week meal, Nigella Lawson’s Spanish chicken with chorizo and potatoes could be a good recipe to try.

Nigella’s recipe, which is from her book KITCHEN, involves just eight ingredients.

Baked chicken thighs with new potatoes, onions and chorizo sausage close-up in a baking dish. horizontal

Nigella said of the recipe: “Much as I love to have a pan bubbling away on the stove, I often feel that the most stress-free way to feed people is by taking the oven route.

“When I’m frazzled, I firmly believe that the tray-bake is the safest way to go. Enjoy the easefulness of the oven: you just bung everything in, and you’re done.”

Fans of Nigella who have cooked the recipe claim it’s “delicious” and “perfect”. One person said: “Delicious as always! I have tried at least a dozen Nigella recipes and am yet to be disappointed.

“I love these simple tray bakes, so much flavour with so little effort. Thanks Nigella!”

Chorizo sausage

Another person wrote: “Just made this for the first time and loved it! I actually added the juice of the zested orange and some fresh ground pepper and salt and it was perfect. Can’t wait to play around with this recipe some more.”

How to make Nigella Lawson’s Spanish chicken with chorizo and potatoes

Ingredients:

• Two tablespoons olive oil
• 12 chicken thighs with skin on and bone in
• 750 grams chorizo (whole if baby ones or cut into 4cm / 1½ inch chunks if regular sized)
• One kilogram new potatoes (halved)
• Two red onions (peeled and roughly chopped)
• Two teaspoons dried oregano
• grated zest of one orange

Method:

1. Firstly, preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C Fan/gas mark 7/425ºF. Then, put a tablespoon of oil in each roasting tin. Rub the skin of the chicken in the oil before turning it skin side up. Six pieces of chicken should be put in each tin.

2. Divide the chorizo sausages and the new potatoes between the two tins. Then, sprinkle the onion, oregano and orange zest over the two tins.

3. Cook the ingredients for one hour. After 30 minutes, swap over the trays in the oven so they cook evenly and baste the contents with the orange-coloured juices.