Chicken and Chorizo Traybake with New Potatoes

Ingredients

• 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 600g new potatoes, halved
• 2 red peppers, deseeded and cut into chunky strips
• 2 red onions, cut into wedges
• 6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 200g cooking chorizo, sliced into 1cm rounds
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 20g fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• 1 lemon, zested and cut into wedges
• 4 warm flatbreads, to serve
• 1 garlic clove, finely grated, to serve
• 150g natural yoghurt, to serve
• a squeeze of lemon juice, to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C / 200°C fan / gas 7. A properly hot oven is what gets you crisp chicken skin and caramelised edges on the vegetables — load it cold and you'll steam everything.
2. Tip the halved new potatoes onto a large roasting tray, drizzle with the olive oil, season generously with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Spread them in a single layer — crowded potatoes steam, spaced potatoes roast. Slide into the oven for 15 minutes until the cut sides are starting to colour at the edges.
3. Meanwhile, pat the chicken thighs thoroughly dry with kitchen paper — water on the skin means steam, and steam means no crackle. Rub the thighs all over with the smoked paprika and dried oregano, working the spices into the skin so they bloom in the oven heat rather than sitting raw and dusty on the surface. Season hard with salt and pepper; this is your one chance to season the meat itself.
4. Pull the tray out and scatter over the sliced chorizo, red peppers, red onion wedges and the unpeeled garlic cloves, tucking everything around the potatoes. Leaving the garlic cloves in their skins is deliberate — they roast slowly to a sweet paste without scorching. Naked garlic in a 220°C tray would burn in minutes and turn the juices bitter, so keep them jacketed.
5. Lay the chicken thighs skin-side up on top of everything, giving each one space to breathe. Return the tray to the oven for 30 minutes, until the skin is deep mahogany, the chorizo has wept its orange oil over the potatoes, and the juices run clear when you pierce the thickest part of a thigh.
6. While the tray finishes, stir the finely grated garlic and a squeeze of lemon juice through the yoghurt, season with a pinch of salt and set aside.
7. In a small bowl, mix the chopped parsley with the lemon zest and extra virgin olive oil. Taste — it should be bright and grassy. Adjust with salt now, not at the table.
8. Pull the tray from the oven. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their papery skins straight onto the tray and mash the soft paste through the paprika-stained, chorizo-slicked juices pooling underneath. Taste those juices and adjust the seasoning — the chorizo brings salt, but a final pinch usually ties it together.
9. Spoon the parsley and lemon dressing over the chicken and vegetables, scatter the chilli flakes across the tray, and tuck the lemon wedges around the edges for squeezing. Bring the tray straight to the table with the garlic yoghurt and warm flatbreads alongside.