Chicken and Sausage Bake

I have another 'shove-it-in-the-oven' savoury recipe today. It's a totally lazy, minimal thought recipe suitable for even the most culinary handicapped. It was inspired by a recipe from Nigella for Spanish chicken, where she baked chicken with chorizo and flavoured it with orange zest. I have yet to find halal chorizo sausage and so used some Merguez sausage from the other side of the Mediterranean, and which I've already talked about in my North African style breakfast hash post. 

I've kept the flavourings pretty simple here, but all the juices that come out from the chicken and merguez create a delicious sauce. I used chicken thighs from Aafiyah's frozen range, which already had a garlic and herb coating. Like Nigella, I added some chopped baby potatoes which roasted away with the meat. After the potatoes are done, they become lovely and crisp on the outside but fluffy on the inside, just the way potatoes should always be. I also added some chunks of red onion, which caramelise in the oven to give a sweet contrast. 

The great thing about this dish is that you can just modify it to suit whatever you have in your pantry. Sweet potato would make a great alternative to baby potatoes, and you could add other produce like tomatoes or carrots. It's a convenient dish for busy families when you don't have the time or energy to labour over dinner. I served the dish with a simple side salad. You could also add some other veg for extra health benefits or some nice pita bread.

Chicken and Sausage Bake

Prep time: 10-15 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes- 1 hour

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

4-5 chicken thighs

4-5 Medium potatoes, cut into small chunks

6 sausages

1 medium red onion, cut into chunks

Juice of half a lemon

½ cup olive oil

¼ tsp Black pepper

¼ tsp salt

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 200ºC.

2) On a roasting tray, place chicken drumsticks. Arrange potatoes, onion, and sausages around the chicken.

2) Pour the olive oil, lemon juice and seasonings over the tray bake. Gently massage it in into the chicken, sausages and vegetables so they are all liberally coated.

3) Place the tray into the oven to cook from 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until the chicken and sausages are cooked through and golden brown. Turn the sausages and chicken over halfway through the cooking to ensure they are coloured evenly. Check that the chicken is cooked through by piercing the drumstick at its thickest part. The juice should run clear.

4) Remove from heat and serve.

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