From the Oven to the Table: Simple dishes that look after themselves

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The plums were delicious and the flavours nicely aromatic but the sauce wasn't as dark and sticky as it looked in the picture and we felt the chicken got rather lost, especially as the skin didn't brown/crisp at all. I've been wanting to try this since I got the book, but recent events have made it difficult to get ingredients.

But as I say, to choose just one recipe is not the perfect state of affairs: there will be many people getting From the Oven to Table: Simple Dishes that Look After Themselves as a present from me this Christmas. An ode to the oven, Diana Henry’s latest offering delivers delectable dishes which are hassle free and packed full of grains, pulses and seasonal vegetables. I have people over for dinner and was able to start cooking at 5, with it and appetizers and asparagus in the oven by 530.

I was making this as a main meal for 2 people, and I struggled a bit to adjust the quantities for that. I cook this in a square 9” LeCreuset pan (I only make half the recipe because I am cooking for two) so my 4 chicken thighs and the sweet potatoes are nestled in tightly together, more like Rinshin’s photo. Actually I have many, but most of my friends know about this one; I don’t like fruit with savoury dishes. I made 2 versions, one with the sausage and one without, as my family contains vegetarians as well as omnivores.

He is also into weightlifting at the moment (he’s almost 14 so this is just a phase) so he told me all the exercises he was going to do AFTER he had eaten.Then, together we mixed all the components in a large serving bowl and I served the dish with warmed flatbread.

I don't like cooked green peppers so I used red ones which complemented the sweetness of the potatoes; threw in some extra russet potatoes for my kid who won't eat sweet potatoes and those were fantastic as well. I made this recipe again this week and think I figured out why I and many others had issues with the marinade/sauce. FYI, On the last page of the index of the book (239) it specifies the temperature and oven Diana uses for all her recipes.Diana Henry's favourite way to cook is to throw ingredients into a dish or roasting tin, slide them in the oven and let the heat behind that closed door transform them into golden, burnished meals.

I used a pear instead of apple and reduced the maple syrup to decrease the sweetness as we do not care for sweet main dishes.

The balance of vegetables is extremely good - the chicory/Belgian endive provides enough acidity to cut through the rich, sweet, earthiness of the other veg.