Carrot and Coriander, Chicken Thigh Tray Bake
If you’ve ever spent a period of time as a veg bag box recipient, then you’ll have found, as I have that the carrots they keep ’em coming. They’re relentless, appearing in our bags almost all year long. The carrot is officially #yourgirlforallseasons (and yes this is reference to classic 1982 film Grease 2, which I’ve just discovered is the same age as me).
In the U.K. carrots have 2 seasons in one year, are are planted to keep us nourished with their beta-carotene all year round. The flavour will vary throughout the year though, being sweeter in summer. But, whenever you cook your carrots, roasting is always a good idea.
In this simple tray bake which takes 45 minutes in the oven but has very little hands on time for cooking, carrots are *roll cut, and tossed with olive oil and coriander seed and cooked alongside chicken thighs till softened and golden. Cooked grains are then tossed through, along with coriander leaf, feta and lemony onions. Serve the roasting dish straight to the table so there’s even less to wash up.
*Instead of explaining how to roll cut you can see for yourselves in my quick video .
- 4-5 carrots, approx. 400g, roll cut*
- 1 tbsp coriander seed
- 4 chicken thighs, patted dry
- 120g bulgur wheat
- 1 or ½ small red onion, wafer thinly sliced
- juice of 1 lemon
- 40g feta
- handful fresh coriander (finely chopped or left whole)
- extra-virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper
- Pre-heat oven to 180ºC fan/200C/400F/gas mark 6.
- Toss the carrots into your tray, and add a good glug of oil and a pinch of salt. Swish the skin side of the chicken thighs into the oil of the tray, then turn skin side up, nestling in alongside the carrots. Scatter over the coriander seed and give the tray a good shake. Season the top of the thighs. Roast in the oven for around 45 minutes, until the carrots are tender and the chicken is crispy on top and cooked through inside (poke at the thickest part, the juices should run clear),
- Meanwhile prepare the bulgur wheat. Place in a heatproof bowl, season with a pinch of salt and submerge under a 2cm later of boiling water, cover the bowl with a plate and leave for up to 20 minutes, by which time the grains will be tender, and all the water absorbed. Fluff up with a fork.
- In a separate bowl use your hands to scrunch together the sliced red onions, a pinch of salt and the juice of half a lemon. Leave to sit until the tray bake has finished cooking.
- When the carrots and chicken are done, remove from the oven, and use tongs to take the chicken out of the tray. Drain off any excessive chicken juices/fat, leaving just enough in the pan to lightly coat the bulgur. Stir through the cooked bulgur and coriander leaf and add a little squeeze of lemon juice. Season to taste. Pop the chicken back on top of the dish, and crumble over the feta and scatter over the onions. Finish with more coriander if you like, and serve straight to the table. No sides required!