Festive Chicken Traybake
Serves 2
My love for traybakes knows no bounds! With all of the madness and chaos during this time of year, I’m looking for a dinner that is:
a) Quick and easy to prepare
b) Requires minimal washing up
c) Full of healthy, nutrient-dense ingredients
…and most importantly,
d) is downright delicious!
And fortunately, this harissa chicken traybake ticks all of these boxes, and then some! It’s full of the most delightfully Christmassy ingredients, it looks oh so pretty on the table and it fills the house with the most wonderful aroma.
The marinade is as easy as mixing equal parts harissa with sour cream, plus a sprinkling of smoked paprika. It’s the quickest and tastiest marinade you’ll ever make! And no festive dinner can really call itself a festive dinner without Brussels sprouts, cranberries and chestnuts now can it?! But it is a very versatile meal because the vegetables can be mixed up seasonally - I also like to use courgettes and cherry tomatoes in the summertime, or aubergine and red peppers too.
This well-balanced dinner has all of the components for a wholesome and nourishing meal. It has wholegrain carbohydrates from the pre-cooked wild rice and grains pouch, 4 different brightly coloured veggies/fruits, and some good quality protein in the form of some organic chicken legs.
As well as providing a ton of protein, it’s incredibly high in fibre (9g per portion!) and just brimming with antioxidants. Amazingly provides a massive 99% of my vitamin C requirements for the day, as well as 21% of my vitamin A.
INGREDIENTS
2 Chicken legs (with thigh attached, skin on and on the bone)
1 Red Onion
40g Kale/Cavolo Nero
100g Brussels Sprouts
80g Fresh Cranberries
250g Precooked Grain Pouch (I used Merchant Gourmet ‘Grains & Chestnuts with Wild Rice & Cranberries’)
1 tbsp Harissa Paste (I used Belazu Rose Harissa)
1 tbsp Sour Cream
1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
Spray of Olive Oil
METHOD
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Place the chicken pieces on a large parchment-lined baking tray.
In a small bowl, mix together the sour cream, harissa and smoked paprika.
Brush the marinade over the chicken and pop in the oven for 15 minutes whilst you chop the vegetables.
Halve the Brussels sprouts, chop the onions into chunks (not a small dice), and de-stalk and chop the kale.
After the chicken has been cooking for 15 minutes, remove it from the oven and scatter the sprouts, red onion and cranberries around it.
Spray them with a little olive oil and put back into the oven for another 25 minutes.
For the last 5 or so minutes of cooking, add the chopped kale and a pre-cooked grain pouch and pop back in the oven.
Make sure the chicken is cooked through by checking its juices run clear.
Serve immediately and enjoy!
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Calories - 615
Protein - 49g
Fat - 25g
Carbohydrates - 45g
Fibre - 9g
Vitamin C - 99%
Vitamin A - 21%
Calcium - 15%
Iron - 13%