Everyday crispy chicken with sweet tomatoes..

SERVES 4

• 4 chicken legs, jointed
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• a big bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked, stalks finely chopped
• 2 big handfuls of red and yellow cherry toms, halved, and ripe plum toms, quartered
• 1 whole bulb of garlic, broken up into cloves
• 1 fresh red chilli, finely chopped
• olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 180c
2. Season your chicken pieces all over and put them into a snug-fitting pan in one layer.
3. Throw in all the basil leaves and stalks, then chuck in your toms.
4. Scatter the garlic cloves into the pan with the chopped chilli and drizzle over some olive oil.
5. Mix around a bit, pushing the toms underneath.
6. Place in the oven for 1 1/2 hours, turning the toms halfway through, until the chicken skin is crisp and the meat falls off the bone.
7. Serve with a simple mashed potato.
8. Squeeze the garlic out of the skins before serving.
9. You could even make it part of a pasta dish - remove chicken meat from the bone and shred it, then toss into a bowl of spaghetti...

ENJOY .....

A simple Jamie Oliver Dish - yep he's done it again !!!

Sticky baked chicken drumsticks

• Olive Oil


• 10-12 drumsticks


• sea salt & pepper

Glaze

• 6 tbsp honey


• 3 tbsp fish sauce


• 1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce


• juice of 1 1/2 lemons


• 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar


• 1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil

1. Heat the oven to about 180. Lightly oil a large baking dish. Season the drumsticks with salt and pepper and arrange in the dish in a single layer. Drizzle over a little olive oil and bake in the hot oven for 20 mins.


2. Prepare the glaze in the meantime. Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl until evenly combined.


3. Take the chicken out of the oven and pour over the glaze, to coat each drumstick. Return to the oven and bake for another 20-30 minutes, turning several times, until the chicken is tender and nicely glazed.


4. Let the chicken rest for a few minutes before serving. For a balanced meal, serve with steamed rice and purple sprouting broccoli or green beans.....I served with my potato bacon bake........yummy

An absolutely gorgeous Gordon Ramsay recipe.....

Crispy & sticky chicken thighs with squashed new potatoes & tomatoes

This recipe came from the Jamie Oliver cookbook "Cook your way to the good life"

800g new potatoes, scrubbed
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
12 boned chicken thighs, skin on, preferably free-range or organic
olive oil
600g cherry tomatoes, different shapes and colours if you can find them
a bunch of fresh oregano, leaves picked
extra virgin olive oil
red wine vinegar

Put the potatoes into a large saucepan of salted boiling water and boil until cooked. While the potatoes are cooking, preheat your oven to 200C/400F/gas 6. Cut each chicken thigh into three strips and place in a bowl. Rub the meat all over with olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper, then toss.

Heat a large frying pan, big enough to hold all the chicken pieces snugly in one layer, and put the chicken into the pan, skin side down. If you don't have a pan that's big enough, feel free to cook the chicken in two batches. Toss and fry over a high heat for 10 minutes or so, until almost cooked, then remove with a slotted spoon to an ovenproof pan of dish.

Prick the tomatoes with a sharp knife. Place them in a bowl cover with boiling water and leave for a minute of so. Drain and when cool enough to handle, pinch off their skins. You don't have to, but by doing this they will become lovely and sweet when cooked and their intense flavour will infuse the potatoes.

By now the potatoes will be cooked. Drain them in a colander, then lightly crush them by pushing down on them with your thumb. Bash up most of the oregano leaves with a pinch of salt in a pestle and mortar, or a flavour shaker if you have one. Add 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, a good splash of red wine vinegar and some pepper and give everything another bash. Add to the chicken with the potatoes, the tomatoes and the rest of the oregano leaves.

Toss everything together carefully. Spread out in a single layer in an appropriately sized roasting tray, and bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven until golden.

Lovely served with a rocket salad dressed with some lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil and a nice glass of white wine...Brown Brothers Moscato is my choice!