Chicken, pineapple and ‘nduja bake
This easy roast chicken thigh dish is all cooked on a single oven tray, and combines sweet pineapple with spicy Calabrian ‘nduja and Mexican chipotle.
Extracted from Mezcla by Ixta Belfrage (Ebury Press, £26). All photography by Yuki Sugiura.
Ingredients
’Nduja and Chipotle Paste
- 50g of 'nduja
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
- 2 tsp tomato purée
- 1/2 tsp chipotle flake
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 3/4 tsp fine salt
- freshly ground black pepper to season, (about 20 twists of the mill)
Chicken
- 4 bone-in chicken thighs , (skin on)
- 4 garlic cloves , peeled and crushed with the side of a knife
- 1 medium onion , halved and very thinly sliced on a mandoline
- 1 pineapple , large, and extra-ripe (peeled)
- 100g of tangerine juice, (from about 4 tangerines)
- 100g of chicken bone broth, (or stock or water)
- 2 tbsp of double cream
- 5g of fresh coriander
- 1 lime , cut into wedges
Equipment
- Iron skillet
- Blowtorch
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 6
Put all the ingredients for the paste into a large bowl and mix together. Add the chicken, garlic and three-quarters of the sliced onion and mix well so everything is coated evenly
- 50g of 'nduja
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp chipotle flake
- 2 tsp tomato purée
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
- freshly ground black pepper to season, (about 20 twists of the mill)
- 4 bone-in chicken thighs , (skin on)
- 4 garlic cloves , peeled and crushed with the side of a knife
- 1 medium onion , halved and very thinly sliced on a mandoline
Tip the onions and garlic into a 28cm ovenproof cast-iron skillet or similar-sized baking dish and spread out. Place the chicken thighs on top, skin side up and spaced apart
Cut the pineapple into 4 rounds, then cut each round into quarters, removing the hard core (you should have about 300g)
- 1 pineapple , large, and extra-ripe (peeled)
Add the pineapple to the bowl with the remnants of the paste, mix to coat with whatever's left there, then arrange the pineapple around the chicken
Pour the tangerine juice around the chicken (don’t get the skin wet), then bake for 20 minutes
- 100g of tangerine juice, (from about 4 tangerines)
Remove from the oven and pour the stock or water into the pan around the chicken (again, don’t get the skin wet)
- 100g of chicken bone broth, (or stock or water)
Return to the oven for another 20–25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is browned and crispy
If you have a blowtorch, use it to char the pineapple a little
Drizzle the cream into the sauce
- 2 tbsp of double cream
Toss the coriander and the remaining sliced onions together with a tiny bit of oil and salt and arrange on top
- 5g of fresh coriander
Serve from the pan, with the lime wedges alongside
- 1 lime , cut into wedges
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Chicken, pineapple and ‘nduja bake
