Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

Marinade

⅓ cup olive oil

2 heaped teaspoons cumin seeds

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

4 Medjool dates (pitted and chopped)

3 cloves garlic

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon picked thyme

700g chicken thighs

2 red onions

½ cup sliced green olives

200g diced smoked bacon

1 cup jasmine rice

1 lemon

Fresh herbs: mint, spring onion, coriander

Place all of the ingredients for the marinade into a small blender / Nutribullet. Blend until a thick chunky paste has formed.
Trim any excess fat off the chicken thighs and slice them in half if they are large. Place them in a large bowl with the marinade and use a spoon (or your hands) to evenly coat the chicken with the marinade. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour or more. Overnight is best.
Place the rice in a bowl, cover with water and set aside for 1 hour. This will quicken the cooking time.
Peel and slice the red onion into wedges. Slice the pitted green olives.
Heat an oven to 220’C.
Arrange the onion wedges and bacon at the base of a deep oven tray. Add the chicken and olives. Give everything a stir and cook in the heated oven for 15 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven, stir again, then reduce the heat to 180’C and cook for a further 15 minutes.
While the chicken is cooking, prepare the rice. Strain off the soaking water and cook according to the packet instructions depending whether you’re using white or brown rice. Season the rice at the end with fresh lemon zest, a drizzle of olive oil and fresh chopped herbs.
The chicken should be golden, sticky and saucy when it’s done. Garnish with any fresh herbs you have on hand. Basil and coriander work well.

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