Roast chicken with oranges, chicory & spelt

For a dinner party, prep this chicken traybake ahead of time and bake two hours before your guests arrive. Bitter orange and chicory balance the richness

Prep:10 mins
Cook:2 hrs
plus 6 hrs marinating

Serves 2
Easy

Nutrition per serving

kcal 1092
fat 50g
saturates 10g
carbs 90g
sugars 33g
fibre 16g
protein 50g
salt 0.5g

Ingredients

4 bone-in chicken thighs, skin on
100ml vermouth
1 tbsp olive oil
2 heads of chicory, halved
2 oranges, halved
200g pearled spelt, cooked with a bay leaf following pack instructions
1 tbsp chopped parsley
splash of red wine vinegar (optional)
3 tbsp olive oil
4 small shallots, halved
2 thyme sprigs, leaves removed
1 orange, zested and juiced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
pinch of red chilli flakes
2 tsp honey
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Method

To make the marinade, whisk all the ingredients together and season. Thoroughly coat the chicken in the marinade and leave for 6 hrs, or preferably overnight.
Remove the chicken from the fridge 30 mins before cooking. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Tip the chicken and its marinade into a roasting tin along with the vermouth. Cover the tin with foil and roast in the oven for 1 hr 40 mins.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil over a medium to high heat in a frying pan. Put the chicory and orange halves cut-side down in the pan, and cook for 5 mins until caramelised. Set aside until the chicken is ready.
Remove the foil from the roasting tin and add the caramelised chicory and oranges, squeezing over the juice of one. Turn the heat up to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and cook for a further 15 mins, until the chicken is nicely caramelised. Remove the tin from the oven and transfer the chicken, chicory and oranges to a plate and keep warm.
Put the roasting tin over a medium heat on the hob, and squeeze in the juice of half a caramelised orange, adding a little water and using a wooden spoon to scrape up any crispy bits. Cook until the juices are reduced to a sauce that coats the back of a spoon. Toss the cooked spelt through the juices, then add the parsley. Taste and season, adding the red wine vinegar, if you like. Divide the spelt between two plates and top with the chicken, chicory and half a caramelised orange to squeeze over.