I have cooked many traybakes before, but most involved potatoes, rice or pasta, like orzo. Recalling some recent conversations, some of us are looking to reduce starchy carbohydrates in our diet. For me, I’m looking for alternatives for variety and interest. If you are looking for some delicious lower carb recipes, and to add more vegetables in your diet, then look no further, read on for two recipes to try in your kitchen. They are very simple to make, one with chicken and the other is vegan. There is something for everyone.
Chicken, sausage and celeriac traybake
1kg pack skin on and bone in chicken thighs and drumsticks
6 butcher’s sausages, break into chunky meatballs (i had a pack of “Heck” gluten free chicken sausages so I used those)
2 red onions, peeled and quartered
1 garlic bulb, separated, keep the skin on
1 celeriac, peeled, cut into large cubes
300g baby plum tomatoes, washed and keep whole
120g mix of green and black olives
1 heaped teaspoon each of ground cumin, hot smoked paprika, chilli flakes
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
Rocket leaves
Lemon
– Preheat the oven to 200c. In a large baking tray, drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil, season over the celeriac cubes, mix. Spread these cubes into one layer and roast in the hot oven for 20 minutes.
– Mix the spices with the thyme leaves and rub all over the chicken pieces with a tablespoon of olive oil, season. When the time’s up, loosen the celeriac, making sure they don’t stick on the tray. Put the chicken pieces on top of the celeriac, skin side up, tuck the sausage meatballs, red onion quarters, garlic cloves and the baby tomatoes in the gaps. Reduce the temperature to 180c and bake for 30-35 minutes.
– Scatter the olives on top and back into the oven for the final 10 minutes. Check the chicken is cooked and the skin is crispy. Top with rocket leave, squeeze over some lemon if liked and serve.
Coconut curry with roasted butternut squash, chickpea and spinach
1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed (or you can buy 800g prepared cubes, roast them with a tablespoon of oil in a hot oven until tender, set aside to cool)
400g frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed out the excess water
2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
1 tin chickpea in water
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tin coconut milk
4 heaped tablespoons curry paste (I used Patak’s Korma curry paste)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt & pepper
* I had 3 small sweet potatoes lying around, so I peeled these and cut up to roast with the butternut squash as well
– In a saute pan large enough to hold all the ingredients, first sweat the onions with the oil and salt for 10 minutes on low heat so that the onions are soft. Add the curry paste, stir and cook for a few minutes.
– Add the tinned tomatoes and coconut milk, simmer for 5 minutes. Add the chickpea with the water (if it was in salted water, drain off first) and add 3/4 tin of cold water. Cook for another 5 minutes on low to medium heat. Once it has thickened a little, add the roasted butternut squash, stir and cook for another 7-10 minutes, before stirring in the spinach. Taste and season, it will need a bit of salt to lift the flavours.
– I had some plain rough oatcakes in the cupboard, so I served the curry with them. Might be a bit unconventional, but I quite liked the crunchy texture. Otherwise you could serve with some steamed brown rice or poppadoms or naan bread.
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