Spicy Baked Chicken

Hi!

So it's all stations go at home at the moment, with just 16 days until my wedding! My dad arrived from England late on Tuesday night, so although I'm cooking again, I still have NO time. It's slightly insane, really. How do people who plan weddings have clean houses, clean laundry and clean dogs? Dear heavens, I realise now that I'm not the multitasker I though I was.

{Image source: gwendolen, flickr}
This is closeish to what I made, but I had marrows, and the chicken pieces were whole)

So, I invited my dad and my sister round for dinner (I really needed to clean my house, and figured they'd be late, so I could clean and cook at the same time - bingo! I was right.) I wanted something that was low maintenance, that I could cook in the oven, and that would be warming and tasty. Also, I had some veggies in the fridge that needed to be used (yes, sometimes I buy things and forget to use them until the last minute!). And so this dish was born.

I literally pulled out everything I needed to use, along with some herbs and spices, and 45 minutes later, out came this wonderful spicy, savoury, delicious baked chicken dish! It has no recipe (I mean, I made it up as I went along), but that's how greatness is made, not so? And without further chatter, I give you,

Spicy Baked Chicken

Ingredients:

Chicken pieces (as many as there are people to feed; whatever piece, I used thighs)

4-5 baby marrows/courgettes/zucchini, roughly chopped into rounds

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed (or 1 tsp bottled garlic)

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried parsley

1 tbsp veggie pickle

1 tbsp black olive tapenade

1 tsp (flat) chilli & garlic paste (it's hot, so be careful with this one)

1 tin tomato and onion

250ml white wine

1 can chickpeas

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Heat a frying pan, and brown the chicken pieces, setting them aside in an oven proof dish.
3. Heat a little oil in the same pan (having turned down the heat a bit), and fry the onions for a few minutes, until they start to soften a bit, then add the chopped baby marrows.
4. Add the veggie pickle, tapenade, the herbs and the chilli and garlic paste.
5. Fry these until the onion's translucent, and add the garlic just before the end, frying until the garlic is fragrant.
6. Add the chickpeas. Because I used tinned, they're already pretty soft. I understand that if you use dry, the chickpeas take a lot longer to cook, so bear that in mind if you decide to use dried, and maybe parboil them before adding them to the mix.
7. Pour in the white wine, a little at a time, stirring in between to loosen any brown bits on the bottom of the pan, then allow it to simmer for a bit, reducing the liquid levels.
8. When the wine has reduced, add the tomato and onion mix, bringing the whole mixture to a simmer.
9. When it's all warm, pour it over the chicken pieces, and pop the whole lot in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until the chicken juices run clear when you stick a knife into them. Thighs are quite thick, and depending on your oven, this may take up to 45 minutes. Rather overcook them slightly, than undercook, as undercooked chicken can give you all sorts of funny illnesses, and it's gross to boot.
10. Serve with rice and steamed veggies or a salad.

Enjoy!