One Pot Roast Italian Chicken

Sometimes, myself and Little Sis make what we call Emergency Dinners.  They usually include stuff in the bottom of the fridge and freezer that needs to be used up and they give surprisingly delicious results.  One of these is my messy, lazy one pot roast Italian Chicken because it can be assembled in minutes, gets thrown into the oven in just one dish and is crammed full of Italian flavours.  Oh, and very little washing up.  Thought you'd like that.

I use chicken breasts on the bone because they are so much jucier and more succulent than chicken fillets - I buy them when they're on offer and throw them into the freezer for midweek dinners.  The sauce is simple : a carton of passata or crushed tomatoes with herbs and seasoning, mixed together in seconds.  Vegetables are usually what's lurking at the bottom of the fridge - today it was potatoes, onions and courgettes but aubergines and peppers or green beans would be just as good.  Actually, tell me what you'd use - I'd love to know.

I'm cooking for two here, but this recipe scales up really easily - just use a larger dish and increase the sauce and vegetables to feed a crowd.

One Pot Roast Italian Chicken

250g Passata
1 tsp each Salt & Pepper
1/2 tsp Sugar
1 tsp dried Oregano
1 tsp dried Rosemary
1 tsp dried Basil
8-10 New Potatoes, washed & halved
1 medium Onion, cut into thin slivers
2 Courgettes, cut into 2cm chunks
2 Chicken Breasts, on the bone with skin on
4-5 fresh Basil leaves, roughly torn

Preheat your oven to 200c / Gas Mark 6 and take out an ovenproof dish large enough to fit the chicken with at least 2-3cm space all around.

Mix together the passata with the seasoning & dried herbs.

Throw the potatoes, onion & courgettes into the dish, place the chicken breasts on top and pour over the passata.

Cover the dish with foil and bake in the oven for 40 minutes.  Remove the foil and cook for another 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Scatter with the torn basil just before serving.  Dig in!!!