Summery all-in-one roast

So tasty and almost unspeakably easy, this is ideal for a weekday supper or a more classic Sunday roast dinner. I just love this recipe as you feel as though you literally throw everything together, pop it in the oven, check a couple of times and, low and behold, you have a really satisfying meal.

In this instance I had some free-range chicken thighs and drumsticks, potatoes, red and yellow peppers and celery. Just remember to cut the vegetables into quite large pieces so that everything cooks together happily at the same time. Once you've added the chicken and vegetables to a large roasting pan, pour over olive oil. Using your hands, turn everything around so that it's well coated in the oil. I also included a couple of lemons (quartered), sprigs of thyme, heads of garlic (sliced through) and plenty of salt and pepper to season.

Roast in the oven at 200°C for about 45 minutes to an hour, or until the meat is cooked through. It's best to check a couple of times and give everything a good stir so they don't stick to the bottom of the pan.

Dish up onto warm plates and enjoy (see opening picture). I also cook this dish with onions, carrots, courgettes, pork or lamb cutlets – whatever's handy. We had some gravy with our chicken, but a dab of mustard would be good, too. (By the way, this was the last proper meal we cooked in our old oven, so the colour does look a bit uneven.)


Wine recommendation

A ripe, oaked Mediterranean white would be a lovely choice such as Gran Viña Sol from Torres near Barcelona, or you could cross the border into France for some garrique-scented red from the Languedoc-Roussillon.

Sobrasada: a spicy delight for meat lovers

When my in-laws first came to visit from Menorca, among other local goodies, they brought a sobrasada sausage. I'm a fan of all things meaty and it was my first experience of this Balearic delicacy: a versatile cured pork sausage with a good kick of paprika. I hadn't tasted anything quite like it before and really loved it. The picture below shows the picant version, with its red string, whereas the regular dolç version has a white string (see above).

Recently I finally got to visit Menorca and we enjoyed sobrasada with my in-laws who served it sliced with drinks. We also had it spread on small bocadillo rolls as a lunchtime snack – this is particularly tasty as some of the peppery oil leeches into the spongy white bread.

I was also keen to bring some back to London to try out in a recipe I'd noticed in Rick Stein's Mediterranean Escapes where sobrasada appears melted into a tomatoey sauce. The results were great: tasty chicken and vegetables with a spicy, well textured sauce. Lots of fresh, lively flavours. As in the recipe, we used chicken breasts, but next time I will use thighs instead and cook them for longer. (I'm not convinced about the breasts as they always seem dry and lacking in flavour.)

Chicken with sobrasada, courgettes and butter beans

100g dried butter beans, soaked overnight (or 225g butter beans from a tin or jar, drained and rinsed)
300ml tomato sauce (see below)
4 free-range chicken breasts
2 tablespoons olive oil
a good pinch of crushed dried chillies
75g sobrasada, sliced
350g courgettes, trimmed and sliced diagonally
a small handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the tomato sauce
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 large cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes (or 1kg fresh ripe tomatoes)
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Serves 4

If using soaked, dried beans, drain and tip them into a pan. Cover with fresh cold water, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 25 minutes, until almost tender. Add half a teaspoon of salt and continue cooking for another 5 minutes or so until tender. Drain and set aside.

Make the tomato sauce. Gently heat the olive oil, add the garlic and cook until just colouring. Tip in the chopped tomatoes and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside. Left-over tomato sauce can be frozen and is ideal served with pasta, grated parmesan and a few torn basil leaves.

Season the chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan. Add the chicken, skin side down, and cook for 5 minutes over a medium heat until golden brown. Turn over and cook for another 5 minutes. Move the chicken to the side of the pan and add the chilli flakes and sobrasada, and allow the sobrasada to melt into the oil.

Turn the chicken over in the now spicy oil until well coated, then reduce the heat, scatter over the courgettes, cover and leave to simmer gently for 15 minutes.

Uncover the pan, add the butter beans and tomato sauce, re-cover and simmer for a further 5 minutes until the beans are heated through.

Scatter with chopped parsley and serve. (We had ours with some plain boiled rice.)

Wine recommendation

This dish is absolutely perfect for showing off a decent Rioja. I was amazed how well paprika goes with this type of wine – it melds beautifully with Rioja's sweet, smoky oak. Try this for yourself by nibbling some spicy chorizo while sipping a glass of even quite straightforward Rioja such as Crianza or a young Reserva. Wonderful.

Pomegranate molasses, Château Musar and memories of Lebanon

This week, at a Christmas party at my daughter's nursery, I was chatting to another parent about unusual ingredients available at a local food shop, Phoenicia in Kentish Town. Pomegranate molasses was mentioned as he fancied the sound of it, but wasn't sure what to do with it. This took me straight back to an extraordinary holiday in Lebanon. We went as wedding guests of the Hochar family of Château Musar and spent several memorable days in this fascinating country. As soon as we arrived in Beirut we went straight out to get some food. Despite being quite late in the evening, it was still very warm and, sitting outside in a bustling street, we enjoyed a fabulous spread of mezze that included chicken livers cooked in pomegranate molasses. As it was so distinctive (and as I love offal) I have tried to recreate this dish back in London, quickly sautéing the livers in a hot pan, pouring in some of the molasses to coat and almost glaze them – delicious. As the dish is quite rich, it's probably best served with wedges of lemon with some fresh parsley sprinkled over or, if you find the pomegranate molasses too cloying, you could add a splash of balsamic vinegar during the cooking to make the dish a bit more tangy. With a slice of toasted sourdough bread and a handful of some green leaves (watercress would ideal) this is a really tasty starter or light supper.

Late-night mezze in downtown Beirut.

Woman making flatbread.

Bottles ageing in the cellar at Château Musar.

Lunch at the Hotel Palmyra after visiting Baalbek.

Late afternoon in Byblos.