How to make Nargisse Benkabbou’s harissa and lemon chicken tray bake with sweet potatoes

“We all need recipes like this sometimes, when just thinking about what to cook and how to cook it feels like a gigantic effort; it happens to the best of us. On those occasions, a one-bowl/one-pan approach is the answer – the kind where you just throw ingredients together and voilà, there’s a delicious meal that you can proudly take credit for,” says Moroccan food writer, Nargisse Benkabbou.

“So if you are on the lookout for that type of recipe, you’re on the right page, but even if not, you’re still on the right page. Harissa and lemon are like bread and butter: They work so well together, we should marry them.”

Ingredients:

(Serves 4) - 2 onions, sliced - 8 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole - 4 large chicken legs - 1 large sweet potato, cut into large chunks - 300g cauliflower florets - 2 lemons, sliced

For the marinade: - 200ml vegetable stock - Finely grated zest of 3 lemons - 3tbsp lemon juice - 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed - 3tbsp harissa, plus extra to serve - 2tbsp olive oil - 2tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander - 1/4tsp salt, or more to taste

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan), Gas Mark 6.

Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a bowl.

Spread the onions out in a deep roasting tin and scatter the garlic cloves all over. Place the chicken legs, skin-side up, on top with the sweet potato chunks and cauliflower florets. Pour over the marinade and turn the chicken legs several times to ensure that they are fully coated with the marinade. Top the whole dish with the lemon slices.

Bake for about one hour or until the chicken is golden and cooked through. Serve the chicken and vegetables immediately with extra harissa.

Casablanca: My Moroccan Food by Nargisse Benkabbou, photography by Matt Russell is published by Mitchell Beazley, priced £20. Available now from octopusbooks.co.uk.