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Halal-conscious recipe

Amatriciana chicken traybake, no pancetta

Sarah Cook's amatriciana chicken traybake with Halal chicken thighs in a chilli, garlic and tomato paste, roasted with new potatoes, thyme and tomatoes, using Halal beef bacon instead of pancetta.

  • Cuisine Italian
  • Meal Main
  • Difficulty Easy
  • Yield 1 large roasting tin, 8 chicken thighs
  • Time 1h 15m
  • Last updated

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

Printable view
Chicken pieces braised in tomato sauce with courgette and mushrooms in a red casserole dish on the hob
Photograph of a chicken cacciatore by Chris Bennett (CC BY 2.0), not the finished dish from this recipe.

Photo: Chris Bennett · CC BY 2.0

Why Halal checks matter here

This traybake stirs in 140 g of cubetti di pancetta or smoked bacon lardons, which are cured pork, and the chicken thighs need Halal slaughter.

This one-tin traybake coats Halal chicken thighs in a chilli, garlic and tomato paste and roasts them with new potatoes. The source stirs in cubetti di pancetta or smoked bacon lardons, which are cured pork, so here it is the same weight of Halal-certified beef bacon. That swap is ours.

It follows Sarah Cook's amatriciana chicken traybake for BBC Good Food. The chicken and potatoes roast for 30 minutes before the beef bacon goes in for 15, then the tomatoes for a final 15.

Halal-critical ingredients

  • Pancetta or bacon lardons The published recipe stirs in 140 g of cubetti di pancetta or smoked bacon lardons, both cured pork. Beef bacon contains no pork but is Halal only from Halal-slaughtered animals with certification. Use Halal-certified beef bacon, as here. See Bacon.
  • Chicken thighs Chicken is a Halal bird, but slaughter decides whether the meat is Halal. Buy from a Halal butcher or in a certified pack. See Chicken.

Safe substitutes

  • 140 g cubetti di pancetta or smoked bacon lardons → 140 g Halal-certified beef bacon, cubed (our swap)

Allergens

gluten (bread to serve, optional)

Ingredients

Paste

  • 1 long red chilli, halved, stalk removed (deseeded if you prefer it milder)
  • 3 tbsp tomato purée
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 garlic cloves

Traybake

  • 8 Halal skinless chicken thighs
  • 500 g new potatoes
  • 4 thyme sprigs
  • 140 g Halal-certified beef bacon, cubed (our swap for cubetti di pancetta or smoked bacon lardons)
  • 400 g tomatoes, half cherry or baby plum, larger ones halved
  • to serve green salad and bread, to serve (optional)

Method

  1. Make the paste. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, gas 6) and find a roasting tin large enough to hold the chicken and potatoes in a single layer. Whizz the chilli, tomato purée, olive oil and garlic to a paste in a small food processor or mini chopper, then spread it over the Halal chicken thighs.
  2. Roast the chicken and potatoes. Add the chicken and potatoes to the tin with salt and plenty of black pepper and mix everything together with your hands. Add the thyme and roast for 30 minutes.
  3. Add the beef bacon. Stir in the Halal beef bacon and roast for 15 minutes more.
  4. Add the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes and roast for a final 15 minutes, until they have softened and the chicken is cooked. Serve straight from the tin with a green salad and bread for the juices, if you like.

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Amatriciana chicken traybake' by Sarah Cook (serves 4: 1 long red chilli, halved and deseeded if you like, blitzed with 3 tbsp tomato purée, 3 tbsp olive oil and 3 garlic cloves to a paste and spread over 8 skinless chicken thighs; mixed with 500 g new potatoes, salt and pepper in a roasting tin that holds them in one layer; 4 thyme sprigs; roasted 30 minutes at 200°C (180°C fan, gas 6); 140 g cubetti di pancetta or smoked bacon lardons stirred in for 15 minutes; 400 g tomatoes, half cherry or baby plum and larger ones halved, for a final 15 minutes; green salad and bread optional). We specified Halal chicken thighs and replaced the pancetta with the same weight of Halal-certified beef bacon; that swap is ours. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Technique and ingredient sources

  1. Amatriciana chicken traybake — BBC Good Food Retrieved:

    By Sarah Cook. Serves 4, prep 15 minutes, cook 1 hour: chilli, tomato purée, olive oil and garlic paste over 8 chicken thighs, roasted with 500 g new potatoes and thyme for 30 minutes at 200°C, 140 g pancetta for 15 minutes, 400 g tomatoes for 15 minutes. We replaced the pancetta with Halal beef bacon.

  2. Bacon analysis — isithalal.food Retrieved:

    Why pork bacon is Haram, and when beef and turkey bacon are Halal.

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