Easy Eats: Apricot Chicken and Cashew Tray Bake
This easy family dinner takes just under an hour from prep to plate. Photo: Sam Parish
These chicken drumsticks get the full treatment with halved apricots straight from the tin. This easy-to-follow recipe is the perfect family meal, taking just under an hour from prep to plate. Or take it one step further, prep the tray in the morning and leave it in the fridge to be slotted straight into the oven when you walk in the door. Enjoy!
Serves 4 / Prep time 10 minutes / Cooking 45 mins
Ingredients
- 1.2-1.5kg chicken drumsticks
- 1 x 800g canned apricot halves in juice, drained
- 1 leek, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- ½ cup (70g) raw cashews
- 2 carrots, halved and quartered
- ½ tsp each white pepper and ground all spice
- 1 cup (250ml) orange juice
- 1 ½ Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 25g butter
- 2 Tbsp chopped parsley
- 1 bunch broccolini, trimmed and halved
Method
Line a baking tray with baking paper and preheat the oven to 200C.
Place chicken, apricots, leek, garlic, cashews, carrots and spices on a tray and toss to combine. Add juice and soy and drizzle with oil. Cover with foil, transfer to the oven and cook for 20 minutes.
Remove foil and give everything a good mix to break up the apricots slightly. Return to oven for a further 25-30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
Meanwhile, place rice, butter, parsley and 1 ¼ cups (310ml) water in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to the boil then cover and reduce to low heat. Cook for 12 minutes or until rice is cooked through.
For the broccolini, pour over a just-boiled kettle of water and leave for 10 minutes.
Divide rice between bowls and top with chicken mixture and broccolini.
Photo: Sam Parish
Sam Parish is a Christchurch-based chef, writer and food stylist. Her food philosophy is ‘maximum of flavour, minimum of fuss’ (MOFMOF), which means she’s all about cooking smarter, not harder. She’ll be sharing delicious, fast, family-friendly food ideas every Wednesday (after road-testing them on her own whānau, of course). Sam’s first book, Cook Me is out now.
