Ingredients
- Serves 4
- 8 chicken thighs
- 3-4 red onions, sliced in quarters, root intact
- 1-2 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 2 tbsp ras-el-hanout
- 2 x 200g pack feta
- 2 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- Sea salt and ground black pepper
- For the shaved salad:
- 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1 tsp fennel seeds, toasted
- 2 heads fennel, shaved on a mandolin
- Handful of mint, to garnish
- Handful of coriander, to garnish
In this recipe I have used a dry rub on chicken thighs, cooked in the oven until tender and humming with spice. Alongside them, baked feta. The idea of baking feta cheese makes it far more appealing to me. Perhaps it has been ruined for me by one too many dodgy Greek salads, but this method reduces its acidic bite and leaves you with a warm and creamy cheese which impressively holds its shape.
Alongside the transformed chicken and the crunch of some lightly dressed fennel shavings and herbs, this is a supper that is far greater than the sum of its parts.
Preheat an oven to 200 degrees Celsius/gas 5.
Place the chicken thighs and red onion on a large, flat, low-sided baking tin and drizzle them with oil. Sprinkle on the ras-el-hanout and season generously with sea salt and ground black pepper.
Place in the oven to roast for 35 minutes. When the chicken is crispy and almost cooked through, remove the roasting tin from the oven and break each block of the feta into four chunky pieces which you place around the sides of the chicken. Drizzle with a little extra oil and sprinkle with chilli flakes and dried oregano.
Put the tray back in the oven to bake for a further 10 minutes, until the chicken is completely cooked through.
Combine all the ingredients for the salad and serve alongside the chicken and feta.
