Chicken is the undisputed hero of traybakes, according to food writer John Gregory-Smith, who has created three global-inspired recipes that showcase its versatility. The first is an eastern Mediterranean chicken meatball dish, flecked with feta and black olives for a sharp, savoury punch, cooked in a rich tomato sauce. Next, a Persian-style saffron chicken and rice, where the rice absorbs the flavours of saffron and crisps at the edges. Finally, a Korean-inspired chicken and potato traybake, featuring a deeply savoury sauce made with gochujang and soy.
For the Mediterranean chicken meatballs, Gregory-Smith recommends using chicken breasts or minced chicken, combined with feta, black olives, spring onions, garlic, tomato puree, Turkish pepper flakes and oregano. The mixture is blitzed in a food processor, rolled into 16 meatballs, and baked in a passata sauce flavoured with more Turkish pepper flakes, oregano and garlic powder. After 12-15 minutes at 200C (180C fan), the meatballs are topped with crumbled feta and parsley.
The Korean-inspired traybake is a take on dakdori tang, a chicken and potato stew. The sauce combines gochujang paste, dark soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, sugar and grated ginger. Chicken thighs, onions, garlic and baby potatoes are roasted in the sauce, first covered with foil for 30 minutes at 220C (200C fan), then uncovered for a further 30-40 minutes at 200C (180C fan) until crisp. The dish is finished with sliced spring onions and toasted sesame seeds.
The Persian-style traybake is inspired by zereshk polo ba morgh, but simplified into a one-pan dish. Saffron, garlic, tomato puree, olive oil and orange juice form the base, with chicken and rice cooking together. Gregory-Smith suggests piling on garnishes for colour and texture, but notes that the recipe can be scaled back if desired.
