30-Minute Roast Chicken Traybake — Oliver-Inspired

About This Recipe

This dish channels Chef Jamie Oliver's two defining principles: cooking should be fast, and it should use one tray if possible. Oliver's '30-Minute Meals' redefined British weeknight cooking and his 'one-pan' approach has saved millions of dishwashing hours. This is our take on his tradition: chicken thighs (faster than whole chicken), new potatoes, lemon, garlic and rosemary, all roasted together so the flavours meld and the chicken juices baste the potatoes. Pure Oliver: simple, fast, ingredient-led, and friendly to family weeknights.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 8skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
• 800 gsmall new potatoes(halved)
• 1 headgarlic(broken into cloves, unpeeled)
• 1lemon(halved, plus 1 sliced lemon)
• 4 sprigsfresh rosemary
• 4 tbspolive oil
• 1 tspsmoked paprika
• 1 tspMaldon sea salt
• 0.5 tspfreshly cracked black pepper
• 100 gcherry tomatoes(on the vine)
• 0.5 bunchfresh flat-leaf parsley(chopped)

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat the oven HOT

   Preheat to 220°C / 425°F. The high heat is essential for crispy chicken skin and golden potato edges in 30 minutes.

2. 2

   Toss everything in one bowl

   In a large bowl, toss the potatoes, garlic cloves, lemon slices and rosemary with 2 tablespoons olive oil, half the paprika, and half the salt and pepper. Tip onto a large roasting tray and spread out.

3. 3

   Season the chicken

   Pat the chicken thighs dry. Toss them with the remaining olive oil, paprika, salt and pepper. Nestle skin-side up among the potatoes.

4. 4

   Roast until golden

   Roast for 25–30 minutes until the chicken skin is deeply golden and crispy, the potatoes are tender with crispy edges, and a thigh registers 74°C internally. Add the cherry tomato vines for the last 8 minutes.

5. 5

   Squeeze and serve

   Squeeze the lemon halves over the tray. Scatter generously with parsley. Serve straight from the tray onto warm plates with a green salad.

Variations

• •

  Greek Variation: add olives, feta and oregano in the last 10 minutes.

• •

  Italian Variation: add cherry tomatoes, basil and capers; finish with grated Parmigiano.

Storage

Refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days. Reheat in a hot oven to crisp the skin.

Frequently Asked Questions