Here’s a tip: buy yourself some chicken thighs, an orange and lemon, some good green olives, a bit of fresh oregano (or dried, if that’s all you can get), salad and potatoes on your way home. Then follow the prep below for marinating the chicken in olive oil and citrus and leave overnight. Tomorrow, feel smug as dinner involves adding the olives and orange slices to your chicken and roasting it. Make a salad, boil some potatoes and thank Rachel Roddy for her genius, once again. Happy Saturday!

Chicken thighs with citrus and olives (adapted from Two Kitchens)

Enough for two (the original recipe is for four; it’s easily doubled)

Cupboard (or things you may already have)
extra-virgin olive oil, 3 tablespoons
garlic clove
dried oregano, a teaspoon (if fresh not available)
salt and pepper

Shopping list
orange
lemon, ½ (you only need the juice so use the zest for a salad dressing to go with or for another recipe like this)
chicken thighs, skin-on bone-in, 4
green olives, 50g
fresh oregano or marjoram sprig (or use a teaspoon or so of dried, above)

How to
1. Zest and juice ½ the orange and the lemon. Mix the orange juice and zest with the lemon juice, 3 tablespoons of oil and some salt and pepper. Peel and trim the garlic, bash it with the blade of a knife so that it is flattened but still whole and add to the oil and citrus mixture.

2. Put the chicken thighs into a bowl (or, as I sometimes do, put them straight into the dish used in step 3), pour over the marinade, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

3. Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan-assisted/gas 6. Tip the chicken and marinade into a roasting or ovenproof dish that will hold the chicken in a single layer and add the olives. Slice the remaining orange half and put the slices under the chicken pieces then add the oregano sprig (or sprinkle over a teaspoon of dried). Roast for about 45 minutes, until lovely and brown on top. If it is browning too quickly (i.e. the skin is good and crispy but the meat is still pink), then cover loosely with foil for the rest of the cooking time.

4. Serve with salad (a lemon and orange dressing works, not surprisingly, really well) and some potatoes.