I like this recipe because you can big it up and serve it to guests or leave it simple for a weekday supper. The orange is really important as it cuts through the aniseed flavour of the fennel.

Ingredients – serves 4

4-8 chicken thighs depending on size. A chicken thigh has around between 80-100g
meat per thigh. The remainder is made up of skin and bone weight.
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 bulbs of fennel, roughly chopped
1 large orange, juice and zest
1-2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
100g pomegranate seeds
sea salt and pepper

Method

1. Turn the oven on to 190°C fan
2. Add the chopped fennel to a large ceramic dish and add the orange juice. Massage the fennel and the orange juice together with your hands or a spoon.
3. Rub the chicken thighs in Dijon mustard and nestle them in on top of the fennel.
4. Sprinkle over the orange zest, salt and pepper and the tablespoon of olive oil over the ingredients.
5. Bake in the oven for around 45 minutes at 190°C depending on the size of the thighs. They should be crispy on the top and soft, as opposed to resisting pressure, when pressed with the back of a fork.
6. Sprinkle with the pomegranate seeds and serve with fresh vegetables and maybe some black or wholegrain rice

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