Chicken with Fennel
Chicken with Fennel
 Prep Time ~20 mins | Cooking Time ~70 mins |
 Approx Cost ~ £8 |  Skill ~ Easy |
 Freeze ~ Yes |  Serves ~ 4 |
Tip ~ Don't worry if you are not keen on the taste of fennel, fresh fennel once cooked has a lovely delicate sweetness but leave out the fennel seeds if you are concerned.
Ingredients
1 tbsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
1 tbsp chopped oregano or marjoram
Small handful of chopped parsley
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
Salt and black pepper
4 chicken legs, halved through joints or 8 thighs
2 fennel bulbs, trimmed and each cut into 4 wedges (reserve any trimmed fronds)
1 lemon, thickly sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
4 large plum tomatoes, quartered
75g / 3oz black olives
150ml / ¼ pint dry white wine
2 tsp light brown sugar
Flat leaf parsley to garnish
Method
- Mix the fennel seeds with the oregano, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper.
- Remove any excess skin and fat from the chicken. Push your fingers between the skin and flesh of each chicken piece and tuck 1 tsp of the garlic mixture into each, spreading it over the flesh but keeping the skin intact.
- Place chicken pieces in a large roasting tin, skin sides uppermost.
- Add the fennel quarters and tuck the lemon slices around the chicken pieces. Drizzle with 1 tbsp oil and roast at 200C, Gas Mark 6 for 40 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes to the tin and drizzle with the remaining oil. Roast for a further 15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through, baste half way through. Add the olives and cook for 5 minutes.
- Remove the chicken and vegetables to a serving dish and keep warm.
- Stir the wine, sugar and any chopped fennel fronds into the roasting tin and cook on the hob over a gentle heat, stirring.
- Season and spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve scattered with parsley.