Recently I completely lost my cooking mojo. After two batches of muffins so awful that even the chickens wouldn’t touch them and a globby gluten free breadcrumb, my kitchen confidence plummeted.  I’m trying to keep it simple with oven baked meals – they’re perfect for the cooler weather, and an easy boost for my low kitchen morale.

The chicken is an adaptation of a Yotam Ottolenghi recipe; the rice an invention because I didn’t want to make something separate on the stove.  I added roast veg to increase the plant food count.  For a vegetarian option, I’m thinking tofu would substitute well for the chicken.

Preheat the oven to 18 degrees C.  

For the chicken

2 tablespoons miso paste ( I used brown rice miso, that’s what we had in the fridge)

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon of vinegar

2 tablespoons of maple syrup   

2cm of ginger, thinly sliced

500g chicken pieces (I have used both breast and thigh, but wings could be yummy too)

Combine the miso, tomato paste, vinegar, maple syrup and ginger to form a smooth paste.  Add the chicken pieces, mixing it around to coat. Place it in an oven proof dish. Pop it back into the fridge until you’re ready.

For the rice

2 cups of brown rice

5 cups of chicken stock or water

A pinch of salt

Thinly sliced green leafy veg (I used kale)

Bring the chicken stock to the boil, adding salt and the greens.  Combine with the rice in an oven proof dish. Cover with foil.

For the Roast Veg

Chop your favourite root vegetables into bite sized pieces (I usually do carrot, sweet potato and pumpkin). Place them on a roasting pan, coat with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt.  

Pop everything in the oven. It should all be ready in about 35 minutes.  Check periodically to ensure the chicken and rice don’t dry out.