Day 155: supper-saver

Didn’t plan on cooking last night, but I will be forever thankful to all contributing powers responsible for the creation of the supper-saving Traybake. I honestly never made them until embarking on this cookalong journey, and therefore have Nigella to thank - again! - for spreading this joy and introducing these stalwart-type dinners into my life. They, of course, make complete sense: a richer concentration of flavour, all in one tray, and less washing up! I think before I was perhaps a glutton for punishment; creating unnecessary chaos in the kitchen that matched my headspace at the time.

Tonight’s supper-saver took the form of Nigella’s Spanish Chicken with Chorizo and Potatoes. It’s been a popular recommendation on Twitter, so I’d already bought everything I needed - a couple of weeks ago, in fact - in preparation; leaving everything in the freezer for when its time came.

Nigella’s Spanish Chicken with Chorizo and Potatoes

Although from the butcher’s, the chicken thighs I had were quite small (quite comforting compared to some of the mammoth-sized ones I saw in the shops recently - pretty sure they weren’t natural!) and therefore didn’t take long to defrost. Even better when the requirement to cook takes you by surprise.

I used the little blimp-shaped chorizos and regular potatoes in place of new.

Flavour musings

What I love about this cookalong is that a lot of the new things we eat - or the Nigella recipes I cook, I should say - become synonymous with special occasions and new memories that are forged. We’ve had my Nan and Grandad staying with us for a week and this marked our last supper together before driving them home today.

An 8-hour round drive I might add! Which is why I made this traybake in accordance with the original recipe: so that leftovers could feed both husband and me when we get home later tonight. The problem is there’s only one very small chicken thigh and a few potatoes left.

Boasting tender pieces of chicken and potatoes soused in orangey, piquant, salty, paprika-red roasting juices: Nigella's Spanish Chicken with Chorizo and Potatoes saved supper last night and marked a wonderful last meal before the grandparents left today. It will forever remind me of this short, but joyful, week with them.