Mary Berry's Easy Peasy One-Pot Chicken is a single-dish recipe that has been described as "delicious" and "easy to make" by home cooks. The TV chef's dish, from her Mary Makes It Easy series, is a "simple one-pot recipe" that saves time in the kitchen.
The recipe uses a whole spatchcock chicken with Mediterranean-style vegetables, cooked in a casserole or deep saucepan. According to the recipe description, removing the backbone makes the chicken easier to arrange in the pot and to carve or joint. For larger groups, the recipe suggests doubling up for eight people by arranging two chickens in a large roasting tin covered in foil.
Positive reviews from home cooks
Those who have tried the recipe have shared favourable feedback. One reviewer said: "Easy recipe to follow and so nice to do it every few weeks, easy to do so much flavour." Another commented: "It has been a long time since I tried a first-time recipe and enjoyed it so much."
A third added: "This recipe was amazing – so tasty & I'm definitely making this again- thank you, Mary." A fourth wrote: "Loved it. Full of flavour. Easy to make. The whole family loved it and wants me to make it again. It will become a regular dinner for us."
Ingredients and method
The recipe requires two tablespoons of olive oil, one large onion thinly sliced, one large fennel bulb thinly sliced, one red pepper deseeded and diced, three large garlic cloves finely grated, 100ml white wine, a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes, two tablespoons of sun-dried tomato paste, two teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce, one small whole chicken, five bay leaves, a thinly sliced lemon, one teaspoon of paprika, and one tablespoon of runny honey.
To prepare, the oven is preheated to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas 6. The oil is heated in a deep, lidded casserole or a large, lidded, ovenproof frying pan over high heat. The onion, fennel and pepper are fried for about three to four minutes, then the garlic is added and fried for 30 seconds. The wine is poured in and boiled to reduce by half. The chopped tomatoes, sun-dried tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce are stirred in, with salt and black pepper to season.
The chicken is placed upside down on a board, and the backbone is removed by cutting either side of the bone with scissors. It is turned over and pressed down on the breastbone to flatten. The lemon and bay leaves are arranged over the chicken, which is then placed breast side up on top of the vegetables. After seasoning, the dish is brought to the boil, covered with the lid, and transferred to the oven for around 35 minutes.
The lid is then removed, and the chicken is sprinkled with paprika and drizzled with honey. It is returned to the oven uncovered for about 30 minutes to brown and finish cooking. To serve, the vegetables are spooned onto a hot platter, and the chicken is jointed or carved before being arranged on top. The vegetables can be prepared in advance, and just brought back to the boil before adding the chicken and cooking in the oven.
