Traybake Chicken with Spiced Grapes, Chickpeas and Thyme

by Nargisse Benkabbou, featured in Madaq

Published by Quadrille

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Introduction

Traybake dinners are one of the tricks that I often turn to in order to make my life easier. To me, these recipes are about packing as many flavours and textures as possible into one pan and letting the oven do its job. A roasted chicken may be the ultimate comfort food, and many of my traybake dinners feature chicken. I love how the juices and fat that the chicken releases during the roasting process meld with the seasoning to create a rich, satisfying sauce. As soon as I take the pan out of the oven, I dip a big chunk of bread into the warm sauce – it is, without doubt, the best part.

This recipe is a traybake version of a grape, chickpea, and thyme chicken tagine. The grapes, added towards the end of cooking, caramelize in the hot juices and warm spices to create a delicious burst of flavour that beautifully complements the thyme. My favourite way to enjoy this dish is with a dollop of Greek yogurt and plenty of bread for sopping up the cooking juices.

As featured in

Madaq

Image of Nargisse Benkabbou's Traybake Chicken with Spiced Grapes, Chickpeas and Thyme — Photo by Issy Croker

Ingredients

Serves: 4-6

1.1 kilogram bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts or thighs
fine sea salt
180 millilitres vegetable or chicken stock
3 tablespoons (45ml) olive oil (plus more for the pan and for drizzling)
3 cloves garlic (minced or crushed)
2 tablespoons chopped thyme (plus more to garnish)
1½ teaspoons ground coriander
1½ teaspoons ground turmeric
1½ teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
450 grams (2 large or 3 medium) onions (thinly sliced)
400 grams can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
300 grams seedless red or black grapes
flaky salt such as Maldon, to serve (optional)

Method

Traybake Chicken with Spiced Grapes, Chickpeas and Thyme is a guest recipe by Nargisse Benkabbou so we are not able to answer questions regarding this recipe

Preheat the oven to 200°C fan (220°C). Season the chicken pieces on both sides using ¾ teaspoon salt. Set aside.
Make the marinade: Combine the stock, olive oil, garlic, thyme, coriander, turmeric, ginger, cumin and ¾ teaspoon salt in a small bowl and stir to mix.
Grease a baking tray with olive oil. Add the onions, chickpeas and about half of the marinade to the prepared tray, and toss to coat. Spread the onions and chickpeas out in the tray.
Add the chicken to the same bowl, pour the remaining marinade over it, and use your hands to thoroughly coat the chicken. Arrange the chicken, skin-side up, on top of the onions and chickpeas and pour the marinade remaining in the bowl over the chicken; set the bowl aside.
Roast the chicken for about 30 minutes, or until it starts to brown.
Meanwhile, add the grapes to the bowl you used for marinating, sprinkle with a generous pinch of fine salt, drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat.
Remove the baking tray from the oven and scatter the grapes around the chicken. Return to the oven and roast for another 10–15 minutes, until the chicken is fully golden and cooked through.
Garnish the chicken and chickpeas with thyme and flaky salt, if using, and serve immediately.