This has become my go-to dinner when we have people over. The hands-on time with this is minimal and the ingredients are simple, but, when put together, the flavour from the chicken and the smoky tomato paste is incredible. It tastes like a really special dinner.

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 220°C fan/240°C/475°F/Gas mark 9.
• Heat a good glug of oil in a large, lidded, deep ovenproof pan. Fry the onion over a medium heat for 5 minutes until soft, stirring in the garlic for the final minute. Scoop from the pan and set aside.
• Sprinkle the paprika over the chicken thighs and use your hands to rub it all over. Season the skin with salt and pepper.
• Heat a little more oil in the pan. Once it is spitting hot, add the chicken thighs, skin-side down, and fry over a high heat for 5 minutes. Turn the thighs over and place the pan in the oven, uncovered, for 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the tomato paste. Add the sundried tomatoes, oil, tomato purée, water, honey and paprika to a blender or processor. Season and blitz to a paste.
• Remove the chicken from the oven and turn the temperature down to 200°C fan/220°C/425°F/Gas mark 7.
• Take the chicken out of the pan and drain off the fat from the pan. Add the tomato paste, the reserved onion and garlic and the chicken stock to the pan and place on the hob. Bring to a steady boil before stirring in the rice. Carefully place the chicken thighs on the rice. Place the lid on the pan and return it to the oven for 25 minutes or until the chicken and rice are cooked through.
• Remove the chicken from the pan and stir in the spinach. Place the chicken back on the rice and cover with the lid. Leave to rest for 5–10 minutes before serving.
• Tips: If you want to make this go further, add 2 extra chicken thighs and serve with salad and flatbreads, and it will feed 6 people. If you want a bit of heat, add 1 tsp chilli flakes to the sundried tomato paste.

Recipe adapted from Easy 10 by Amy Sheppard (Penguin Random House)

Instagram: @amysheppardfood
Photo: Dan Jones