The Fallacy of The Traybake
Be honest with me, have you ever had a traybake recipe turn out delicious?
I haven’t, and it’s not bad luck. At their core, traybakes promise something they can’t deliver. You cannot typically roast protein and vegetables in a hot oven for the same amount of time and expect a delicious meal.
I understand why traybakes became popular. Every parent has stood in front of the fridge at 5:30pm looking for a dinner solution that involves as little effort, physical and emotional as possible.
The perceived problem: cooking healthy food takes too long for the modern schedule.
The presented solution: throw it all on a baking tray and whack it in the oven.
The problem with the presented solution: foods cook at different speeds, and roasting things for too long dries them out. Something will always be overcooked. Something will always be under.
The real solution: Learn to cook more efficiently. Cooking good food matters and it doesn’t take that much longer or result any more washing up to make a delicious meal vs. a sad one.
I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: if you want someone to eat healthy food, don’t serve it at its worst. A whole generation has turned their nose up at kale because it was handed to them under-marinated in a throat-shaving, desolate salad. The same goes for traybakes. You think you are setting people up to eat more vegetables or protein, but really you’re setting them up to endure them, badly.
Somewhere along the line we accepted that speed matters more than flavour. Which brings me to my actual point: one-pan meals are worlds better.
To prove it, I’ve written a one-pan chicken recipe. The difference is ten minutes of active cooking at the start. Soften the vegetables, toast the spices. This builds flavour and ensures even cooking. Then, and only then, you add the rest, finish with a little lid-on, lid-off jiggery-pokery, and you still get to whack it in the oven and walk away.
Now, in the interest of fairness, I should probably admit that I have not cooked every traybake recipe ever written. There are apparently millions of them on the internet alone and I do occasionally need to sleep. So, it’s possible that somewhere out there is a traybake that delivers perfectly cooked vegetables, juicy protein and lashings of flavour. If you’ve found it, send it my way. I love having my mind changed.
Until then try this super simple and juicy One Pan Chicken and Leek Rice. It’s like an extra aromatic risotto but so much less effort.
One Pan Chicken and Leek Rice
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
3 large leeks, halved and thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 ½ (300g) cup short grain brown rice
½ cup (120ml) white wine
1 large bunch (200g) cavelo nero, thinly sliced
830ml (3.5 cups) chicken stock
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
4 -6 chicken legs or thighs
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 lemon, sliced for garnish
Sea salt and black pepper
Olive oil, to serve
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C fan.
Put 1 tablespoon olive oil in bottom of a large wide pot or dutch oven. Add the leeks and garlic and Sautee until soft and creamy, about 10 minutes
Add the fennel seeds and rice and toast for 30 seconds.
Add the wine and reduce by half. Season well with salt.
Pour over the chicken stock, kale, lemon zest and lemon juice stir well and ensure no rice is sitting above the liquid.
Nestle the chicken on top. Drizzle with olive oil and season the chicken skin generously with salt and pepper and the smoked paprika.
Cover tightly with foil or a lid and roast for 25 minutes.
Remove the foil or lid and return to the oven for another 20–25 minutes until the chicken skin is crispy and golden. Allow to rest of 10 minutes.
Serve the chicken piled on the rice and veg with sauce drizzled around. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a lemon wedge.