Roast chicken thighs with tomatoes, fennel seeds, chilli and honey recipe 

A bung-in-the-oven dish. I love fennel, honey and chilli together – they taste so summery. To have something to eat on the side, just quarter or halve baby potatoes, toss them in a roasting tin with 1 ½ tbsp of olive oil, seasoning and the leaves from two sprigs of rosemary, and roast on another shelf at the same time as the chicken. All you need in addition is a green salad.  Sprinkling sea-salt flakes on to the chicken ensures a crispy skin.

Prep time: 15 minutes | Cooking time: 50 minutes

SERVES

four 

INGREDIENTS 

• 8 chicken thighs
• 6 large plum tomatoes, halved
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, grated to a purée
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 1 tsp fennel seeds, bashed in a mortar and pestle
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Sea-salt flakes

METHOD 

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/190C fan/gas mark 6.
2. Trim the chicken thighs of excess skin. Put them, along with the tomatoes, in a large, heavy roasting tin (about 28 x 36cm). They must be able to lie in a single layer (without there being too much space around them – if there’s too much space, the honey will burn as the cooking juices evaporate).
3. Mix the oil, honey, vinegar, garlic, chilli, fennel and the juice of ½ of the lemon in a small bowl, then pour this all over the tomatoes and the chicken. Turn everything over with your hands. Finish with the tomatoes cut-side up and the chicken skin-side up. Season, being careful to put sea-salt flakes on the chicken. Roast for 45 minutes, basting a couple of times with the cooking juices. Cover with foil if the chicken skin is getting too dark.
4. Put the chicken and tomatoes on to a warm platter and set the roasting tin over a medium heat on the hob. Add the juice of the other half of the lemon, heat the cooking juices with this and then pour over the tomatoes and chicken. Serve immediately.