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Chris Baber’s chicken dinners

From Mexican-inspired dishes to a picture-perfect pie, discover Chris Baber’s delicious recipes that put super-succulent chicken centre stage
Super-simple Mediterranean-style chicken traybake

Super-simple Mediterranean-style chicken traybake

“The ultimate midweek winner: cooked in one tray and bursting with flavour. Pick up San Marzano tomatoes and British M&S Select Farms drumsticks at a great price in store this month with Fresh Market Specials – and let the oven work its magic!”
See the recipe

Super-simple Mediterranean-style chicken traybake

    • 1kg M&S Select Farms baby potatoes, halved
    • 2 packs (300g) M&S mini San Marzano vine tomatoes, halved
    • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
    • ½ jar pitted black olives, drained
    • 2 packs (1.2kg) M&S Select Farms British chicken drumsticks
    • 1 bunch basil, torn
    • 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
    • Chilli flakes or fresh chillis, sliced (optional)
    • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (optional)
    • 1 baguette to serve
    1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas mark 6.
    2. Add the potatoes, tomatoes, garlic, olives and chicken drumsticks to a roasting tin, scattering over half the basil leaves.
    3. Season generously with salt and pepper, and drizzle over the extra virgin olive oil. If you like spice, here you could add in a pinch of chilli flakes or sliced chillies for a bit of heat.
    4. Mix together with your hands so all of the ingredients are coated in the oil and seasoning.
    5. Arrange the drumsticks evenly around the dish on top of the other ingredients and pop in the oven.
    6. After 45 minutes, turn the chicken and baste in the juices, and give the potato and tomato mix a good stir. Bake for a further 45 minutes until the chicken is cooked through with crispy golden skin, and the potatoes are nicely roasted.
    7. Remove from the oven. Serve with the remaining basil leaves, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar if you like.
    8. Serve with a crusty baguette to mop up the juices.
NACHO CRUMB CHICKEN

Nacho crumb chicken

“Crushed tortilla chips make a deliciously crunchy coating for this chicken, while the Cook With M&S Mexican paste packs a serious flavour punch on the taste buds.”
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Nacho crumb chicken

    • 1 tbsp Cook With M&S Mexican paste
    • 2 tbsp olive oil
    • 500g Select Farms skinless boneless chicken thighs
    • 200g lightly salted tortilla chips
    • 60g Cook With M&S butter and parsley breadcrumbs
    • 1 tsp smoked paprika
    • 0.5 tsp cayenne pepper
    • 800g sweet potato fries
    • 400g coleslaw mix
    • 1 lime
    • 1 pinch sugar
    1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/ gas mark 6.
    2. Mix the Cook with M&S Mexican paste with 1 tbsp of the olive oil, then use to coat the chicken and leave to marinade for 1 hour.
    3. Mix the tortillas with the breadcrumbs, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper and a pinch of salt. Coat each piece of chicken in the crumb mix, then place on a baking tray.
    4. Put the sweet potato fries on another baking tray, season with salt and drizzle with oil. Bake the chicken and sweet potato fries for 30 minutes, turning halfway.
    5. Just before the cooking time is up, mix the coleslaw with the lime juice, 1 tbsp olive oil, sugar and a pinch of salt. Serve it alongside the chicken and sweet potato fries.
Cajun chicken tostada

Cajun chicken tostada

“Guarantee smiles all round with these chicken tostadas. This easy-peasy midweek meal blitzes up avocado, coriander, lime and olive oil for a super-tasty dressing. Try making a double batch of the sauce to add to a salad or nachos the next day.”
See the recipe

Cajun chicken tostada

    • 1 pack (284g) Cook With M&S Cajun chicken breasts
    • 1 ripe avocado
    • 1 handful coriander, chopped
    • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
    • 1 lime
    • 8 M&S soft tacos or tortilla wraps
    • 500g (2x packets) M&S microwave basmati rice
    • 6 large M&S Select Farms tomatoes, finely diced
    • M&S extra hot chilli sauce, to serve (optional)
    1. Preheat the oven to 200°c/180°c fan/gas mark 6.
    2. Cook the chicken for 27 minutes. Once cooked, shred with a couple of forks.
    3. While the chicken is cooking, make the dressing by blitzing the avocado, half of the coriander, the extra virgin olive oil, 100ml water, the juice of half the lime, and a good pinch of salt and pepper in a food processor. Whizz up until smooth – you may need to add a splash more water to loosen. Season to taste and then set aside.
    4. Toast the tacos or wraps in a hot dry frying pan for 30-60 seconds on each side until lightly golden and crisp.
    5. Heat the rice in the microwave as per the packet instructions. Add to a bowl with the remaining coriander and the juice of the other lime half. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and mix together well.
    6. Serve up by spreading 1 tsp of avocado dressing over each toasted taco almost to the edges. Divide the rice between the tacos, spreading evenly across the sauce. Top each taco with the diced tomato and shredded chicken, and spoon over the remaining avocado dressing.
    7. If you want an extra kick, drizzle over some M&S extra hot chilli sauce.
CHICKEN, LEEK AND MUSHROOM PIE

Chicken leek and mushroom pie

“You just can’t beat a good old chicken pie. My version uses Cook With M&S chicken gravy for instant flavour, and a delicious root veg topping in place of pastry.”
See the recipe

Chicken, leek and mushroom pie

    • 500g Select Farms skinless boneless chicken thighs
    • 300g chestnut mushrooms
    • 2 medium leeks
    • 350g Cook With M&S chicken gravy
    • 3 tbsp low-fat crème fraîche
    • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
    • 1 large potato
    • 1 small swede
    • 1 parsnip
    1. Preheat the oven to 200°C /180°C fan/gas mark 6.
    2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat and lightly brown the chicken thighs for a few minutes on each side, until golden. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook for 4 minutes.
    3. Add the leeks and cook until just softened, constantly turning the ingredients in the pan to allow everything to cook evenly. Add the gravy, crème fraîche and mustard, bring to the boil and season with salt and pepper.
    4. Pour the contents of the pan into a large, shallow pie dish (20cm x 30cm).
    5. Toss the potato, swede and parsnip in a bowl with 1 tbsp oil and season with salt. Place in a microwaveable dish and heat in the microwave at full power for 5 minutes to soften.
    6. Layer the sliced veg over the pie mixture. Sprinkle with cracked black pepper, cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and return to the oven for another 10 minutes, or until the root veg topping is soft.
All-in-one midweek roast chicken traybake

All-in-one midweek roast chicken traybake

“Serve up the ultimate midweek chicken roast with my fuss-free traybake, featuring roast potatoes, sweet tomatoes and vibrant peas.”
See the recipe

All-in-one midweek roast chicken traybake

    • 1 medium Oakham chicken
    • 4 large maris piper potatoes, cut into 3 pieces
    • 3 brown onions, peeled and quartered
    • 1 pack round tomatoes, cut in half
    • 1 head of garlic, broken into individual cloves
    • 1 handful frozen peas
    1. Preheat the oven to 190°c/170°c/gas mark 5
    2. Place the chicken on a baking tray, then add the potatoes, onions and garlic cloves and sprinkle with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.
    3. Add 400ml of water to the tray and place into the oven for 1 hour. During the cooking process use the natural chicken stock to baste the chicken and move the vegetables around so they gain an even colour.
    4. After one hour remove the chicken from the tray and leave to rest, add the tomatoes to the tray and return to the oven for 15 minutes, or until the tomatoes are blistered and the stock reduced to a syrupy chicken sauce. Lightly crush a few garlic cloves to add flavour.
    5. Add the peas to the hot sauce and veg for the final 2 minutes to cook through.
    6. Carve the chicken, return the meat to the tray and serve.
Easy chicken tagine

Easy chicken tagine

“Tagines usually take a long time to cook, but since this version gets its depth of flavour from the Cook With M&S Moroccan paste, it’s ready to eat in less than an hour.”
See the recipe

Easy Moroccan chicken tagine

    • 1 tbsp olive oil
    • 2 white onions, sliced
    • 500g boneless chicken thighs, each thigh diced into 6 pieces
    • 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 2cm cubes
    • 4 tbsp Cook With M&S Moroccan paste
    • 500g Italian tomato pasta sauce
    • To serve
    • 300g couscous, prepared as per packet instructions
    • 4 tbsp Greek yoghurt
    • 15g chopped coriander
    • 50g roasted pistachios, crushed
    1. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan on a medium heat.
    2. Add the onions with a pinch of salt and cook gently for 15 minutes, until caramelised.
    3. Add the chicken and sweet potatoes to the pan, then continue to cook for 10 minutes, until the chicken starts to colour.
    4. Add the Cook with M&S Moroccan paste to the pan and mix in so that the ingredients are fully coated. Next, add the tomato sauce and 200ml of water, and cook for 10 minutes.
    5. Serve the tagine on a bed of couscous, finished with Greek yoghurt, chopped coriander and crushed pistachios.

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