Lemon and Herb Chicken Traybake with Summer Veg

Ingredients

• 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 2 courgettes, cut into 2cm rounds
• 2 red peppers, deseeded and cut into chunky strips
• 2 red onions, cut into wedges
• 300g cherry tomatoes, on the vine if possible
• 4 garlic cloves, bashed and unpeeled
• 1 lemon, half sliced into rounds, half reserved for squeezing
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp chilli flakes
• 200g Greek yoghurt
• 1 small garlic clove, finely grated
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• 15g fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 4 warm flatbreads, to serve
• 10g fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly torn, to serve
• a small handful of fresh oregano leaves, to serve
• extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle, to serve
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve

Method

1. Heat the oven to 220°C / 200°C fan / gas 7. A hot oven is non-negotiable here — it's what crisps the chicken skin and chars the veg edges instead of stewing them.
2. Pat the chicken thighs properly dry with kitchen paper, then season generously all over with salt and pepper, working some under the skin too. Wet skin steams; dry skin crisps.
3. Tip the chicken into a large roasting tin in a single layer, skin-side up — don't crowd them, give each thigh space or you'll lose the crisp. Tuck the courgettes, peppers, onion wedges, cherry tomatoes, bashed garlic cloves and lemon slices around (not on top of) the chicken.
4. Drizzle the olive oil over everything, scatter the dried oregano and chilli flakes, and season the veg with salt and pepper. Toss the vegetables with your hands to coat, then make sure the chicken is sitting skin-side up and proud — any veg piled on the skin will steam it soft. The bashed garlic cloves stay in their skins on purpose: they roast slowly and sweet inside the papery jacket rather than burning to bitter shards in the hot oil.
5. Roast for 38–40 minutes. You're looking for chicken skin that's deep golden and audibly crisp when you tap it, juices running clear from the thickest part of the thigh, blistered and collapsing tomatoes, and dark charred edges on the peppers and onions.
6. While the tray's in, make the yoghurt. Stir the Greek yoghurt, grated garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice and chopped parsley together in a small bowl. Taste it — it should be sharp, garlicky, properly seasoned. Adjust the salt now, not at the table.
7. Pull the tray out and squeeze the reserved lemon half straight over the hot chicken and veg — it will hiss and steam, and that splash of lemon juice cuts through the rendered chicken fat and lifts everything on the tray.
8. Bring the tray to the table. Scatter over the torn parsley and fresh oregano leaves, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, tear the warm flatbreads, and serve with the lemon and parsley yoghurt spooned alongside and lemon wedges for squeezing.