Angela Patrone, Senior Lifestyle Reporter, tested two popular chicken traybake recipes from celebrity chefs Rick Stein and Mary Berry. While both dishes were tasty, one emerged as the clear favourite, having been cooked three times in a single month.
Mary Berry's Mediterranean All-in-One Chicken
Mary Berry's recipe is straightforward and no-fuss, combining succulent chicken with vibrant vegetables, all seasoned and coated for depth of flavour. The recipe recommends one chicken thigh and one drumstick per person, though portions can be reduced for smaller appetites.
Patrone followed the recipe closely but made two minor adjustments: she omitted the green olives, which were not to her taste, and added an extra 10 minutes to the roasting time after introducing the courgettes. She noted that the traybake was a delight, but if she made it again, she would swap the preserved lemons for a standard lemon, as the salty brine coating the dish wasn't entirely to her liking.
Rick Stein's Chicken, Lemon and Garlic Traybake
Rick Stein's version uses only chicken thighs, arranged on a bed of fennel, courgette slices and baby potatoes. Like Mary Berry's, it uses lemons for flavouring, but Stein's recipe calls for fresh lemons, which Patrone found produced a notably superior taste in both the chicken and vegetables.
The chicken needed to be pan-seared before going into the oven, which crisped the skin beautifully and kept the meat wonderfully moist. While Stein's recipe demands slightly more preparation time, the results are considerably more rewarding in terms of flavour. Patrone made this dish on three separate occasions in the past month alone.
Cost and Ingredients Comparison
Patrone also found it refreshing that Stein's traybake requires relatively few ingredients and comes in at a lower cost compared to Mary Berry's somewhat pricier recipe. Both recipes offer a brilliant solution for feeding the whole family, with chicken and vegetables all cooked together in a single large tray.
In the end, Patrone preferred Rick Stein's chicken traybake over Mary Berry's Mediterranean all-in-one chicken, citing superior flavour and better value for money.
