Baked Chicken Arabiatta

 Hi, this recipe is from the BBC GoodFood Magazine, September 2020 issue. I received a subscription to their magazine as a birthday present from my parents and I have been loving the recipes so far and am always eager for the next issue. Alternatively, you can view all their recipes, for free!, on their website. Here is a link to the original recipe for the chicken arabiatta. Before I begin, I just wanted to mention that I was halfway through my meal before I remembered to take a picture of the chicken, so that it why there is only 1 drumstick and a small amount of tomatoes and pasta in the corner of a plate; I had already eaten the rest! Now, back to recipe tips, I substituted the chicken thighs for drumsticks as my younger sister is slightly picky about which she will eat and it worked fine, the only thing I would say is because I serve about 2 drumsticks per person, we had a packet of 10 so I cooked all of them, just when frying, at the start of the recipe, it took longer than 5mins as I had to do it in two batches. Also, there was a lot of this meal, we had enough leftover for an extra portion. However, had I been doing it with chicken thighs I would not have had any chicken left, but there was enough pasta and tomato sauce for one more meal. Enjoy!!

Dietary Info:
-Dairy Free
-No Nuts
-Contains Gluten {You could substitute the pasta for a gluten-free alternative}
-Unsuitable for Vegetarians {Switch the chicken thighs for braised tofu, vege or Quorn sausages or you could try using some lentils or chickpeas, falafel or vege meatballs would be nice as well...}
-Unsuitable for Vegans {See above}

Serves 4 {with leftovers}
Prep: 15mins {I took a bit longer, closer to 30mins}
Cook: 1hr
Suitable for freezing (Goodfood tip: To reheat, defrost thoroughly and put in the oven, covered with foil at 200℃/180℃ fan/390℉/Gas 6 for 20-25mins or until piping hot all the way through.

Good To Know:
-Healthy
-Folate
-Fibre
-Vitamin C
-Iron
-3 of your 5-a-day

Per Serving:
Calories: 589kcal
Fat: 17g
Saturates: 4g
Carbs: 62g
Sugars: 14g
Fibre: 9g
Protein: 36g
Salt: 0.5g

Ingredients:
-1tbsp oil {I used extra virgin olive oil}
-4 skin on chicken legs {Or use drumsticks, I serve 2 per person}
-1 red onion, sliced {NOT DICED!!}
-1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced
-1 heaped tsp chilli flakes {I lowered this as my sister is not a fan of spicy food, so I added a pinch of this super spicy chilli powder we have been given from one of my dad's friends, it was made with homegrown chillies and added a really nice kick}
-2 large garlic cloves, crushed {I did 3 medium, finely chopped}
-200ml white wine {I used Tesco Australian Chardonnay}
-2 x 400g tins cherry tomatoes {I couldn't find these so I used 400g cherry tomatoes, halved and 1x400g tin chopped tomatoes}
-3 oregano sprigs {I used 1/2-1tbsp mixed dried herbs}
-150ml chicken stock {I made mine with half a stock cube}
-200g fresh spinach
-pinch of sugar
-300g pasta {I used fusili}

Method:
1: Heat the oven to 200℃/180℃/390℉/Gas 6. Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat {It will need to be quite deep as you make the sauce in it afterwards}. Season the chicken and fry, skin side down {If doing chicken drumsticks make sure to rotate them to make them golden brown all over} for 5mins until golden brown. {However, if it is still a little pink after 10mins don't worry, stop frying them as they will cook in the oven when baked.} . Remove and set aside.
2: Tip the onion and pepper into the pan and fry for 10mins until softened {I only needed about 5mins on a high heat}. Add the chilli and garlic, and fry for another minute. Pour in the wine, then simmer for a few minutes until the liquid is reduced by half. Tip in the tomatoes, oregano, stock, spinach and sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10mins. Season.
3: Pour the sauce into a medium roasting tin {I used a large oven proof dish}. Nestle in the chicken and bake for 35-40mins until cooked through. {Halfway through, I covered my chicken in foil and also turned up the temperature to full blast, just to make sure the chicken was cooked all the way through}. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to pack instructions {Mine took about 15mins}. Scatter the oregano leaves over the chicken and serve with the pasta.