Chicken with Tomato Sauce

This quick and easy one-pot dish is perfect for a midweek meal and is delicious with a jacket potato, pasta or rice and a green salad. The tomato sauce is almost a ‘ratatouille’ with lots of Mediterranean vegetables.

Ingredients

1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 pepper (any colour)
1 courgette
400g mini chicken fillets
Black pepper (optional)
2 x 5ml spoons vegetable oil
2–3 sprigs rosemary or thyme OR ½ x 5ml spoon dried herbs
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
1 x 5ml spoon tomato purée
1 x 5ml spoon
Worcestershire sauce
1 x 5ml spoon vinegar (balsamic or red wine)

Equipment

Sharp knife
Chopping board
Garlic press (optional)
Large deep, microwave-safe dish with lid or clingfilm
Fork
Measuring spoons
Plate
Oven gloves
Mixing spoon
Can opener

Instructions

1. Peel and finely chop the onion and peel and finely chop or press the garlic. Wash the pepper and courgette. Cut the courgette into 1cm chunks and deseed the pepper and chop into 1cm chunks.
2. Arrange the chicken fillets in the dish using a fork and grind over some black pepper to taste (if using). Drizzle with the oil and tuck in the herbs or sprinkle with the dried herbs. Wash your hands.
3. Cover with a lid or clingfilm, leaving a small area open, and cook on full power for for 2 minutes. All timings for this recipe are based on using an 800W microwave. Remove the dish, peel back the clingfilm and use a fork to turn the chicken so that any cooked parts on the outside are in the centre. Re-cover and cook for 1 minute more.
4. Remove the dish and transfer the chicken to a plate using a fork.
5. Add the onion and garlic to the dish. Cook on full power for 2 minutes.
6. Add the courgettes and peppers to the onions, stir well and cook on full power for another 2 minutes.
7. Open the can of tomatoes and add to the vegetables. Measure in the tomato purée, Worcestershire sauce and vinegar. Stir to combine.
8. Add the chicken and any juices so they are completely covered with tomato sauce.
9. Cover the dish with clingfilm in the same way as before and cook on full power for 3 minutes.
10. Carefully peel back the clingfilm, keeping your hands and wrists out of the way, as steam can cause burns. Stir the chicken fillets so that they can cook evenly.
11. Re-cover and cook on full power for another 5 minutes.
12. Remove the dish and leave to stand for 2 minutes. Carefully peel back the clingfilm and check that all the chicken is thoroughly cooked (no pink in the middle). If not, re-cover and cook for another 1–2 minutes each time until cooked.

Skills used include:
Washing, measuring, peeling, chopping, crushing and microwaving

Top Tips

• Mini chicken fillets are the strip underneath a chicken breast. They are often sold separately and are cheaper than buying whole chicken breasts. These don’t need slicing but if you want to use normal chicken breasts for this, slice them into long, equally sized strips.
• To make a colourful dish, use a yellow or orange pepper.

Something to try next time

• If you prefer a smooth sauce, remove the chicken at the end of cooking and keep warm. Put the sauce into a blender then pour over the cooked chicken.
• To make this dish vegetarian, substitute the chicken for 250g QuornTM chunks. Miss out steps 2–4 then add the QuornTM chunks to the onions and garlic with the herbs, oil and black pepper and continue in the same way from step 5.
• Add a pinch of chilli powder or a finely chopped fresh chilli with the onions if you like spicy chicken.

Prepare now, eat later

• Once cooked and cooled this dish can be frozen in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months.
• This dish will keep, covered, in the fridge for 24 hours. To reheat, put back in the microwave for 2 minutes on full power. Stir, then heat for a further 2 minutes and check the chicken is piping hot all the way through before serving.