Madhouse recipe : Moroccan Chicken Tray Bake

Well, it's been a while since I've shared a recipe post. As I mentioned last year, ever since Madhouse Daddy died, I had gone back to cooking just plain "kid food" - all nice enough but pretty boring. I decided that I wanted to get back into trying some new recipes, looking for some more exciting things that we could eat and that the kids would love. Aldi recently shared a recipe for Moroccan Chicken Traybake, which you can click through to see on their website. I thought this had potential and gave it a try, using nothing but store-cupboard basics. I tweaked it, leaving out the fresh spinach that I knew the kids wouldn't like, and swapping a few things around, so I'll share the recipe that I used here. It's not bad - it made a nice change and you can add extra spices on your plate, if you want to keep it kid-friendly.

Moroccan Chicken Tray Bake

Ingredients

4 chicken thighs (or you can use breasts if you prefer)

400g tin of chickpeas, drained (I used a tin of mixed beans)

400g tin of chopped tomatoes (I finished off a tin of ratatouille that was in the fridge)

1 onion, peeled and chopped

1/2 a red pepper, chopped

100g spinach leaves (I left this out)

1tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp garlic granules

glug of olive oil

salt and black pepper

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6.

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the chicken pieces, skin side down, for ten minutes until the skin goes golden brown and starts to crisp up. Roughly chop the red pepper and onion and add to the pan. Flip over the chicken and cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring the vegetables every now and then. Sprinkle over some salt and black pepper.

Meanwhile, pour the tomatoes (or ratatouille) and chickpeas (or mixed beans) in a roasting tin. Add the spices (paprika, cinnamon, garlic granules) and stir.

Mix the red pepper and onions into the beans. Lay the chicken pieces on top and press them down into the sauce.

Bake in the oven for 35 minutes. Serve with couscous or rice, or just on its own. 

This was a lovely warming dish, that was quick to throw together when I got home from work. I'd be very tempted to make this in the slow cooker on a busy day, so that we'd have a lovely, warming meal ready and waiting for us at the end of the day. Healthy, homecooked food packed with veggies that the kids liked? Check !