Mary Berry Mediterranean Chicken Thighs with Chorizo Recipe

Chicken thighs and chorizo is one of those combinations that makes cooking feel almost unfairly easy. The chorizo releases its paprika-stained, deeply smoky fat as it cooks — and everything else in the pan cooks in that fat, absorbing its character completely.

By the time the dish comes out of the oven, the chicken thighs are golden and deeply coloured, the peppers and tomatoes have caramelised slightly, and the whole thing is bound together by a sauce that is rich, slightly spicy, and completely satisfying.

This is a one-pan dinner that goes from fridge to table in under an hour. It requires almost no technical skill, uses ingredients that are always useful to have in the kitchen, and produces something that tastes like it took considerably more effort.

Ingredients for Mary Berry Mediterranean Chicken Thighs with Chorizo

For the Dish

• 8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
• 200g cooking chorizo, sliced into 1cm rounds
• 2 red peppers, deseeded and cut into 3cm chunks
• 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and cut into 3cm chunks
• 1 large red onion, cut into thick wedges
• 4 garlic cloves, unpeeled — left whole
• 250g cherry tomatoes, left whole
• 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 150ml dry white wine
• 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 75g pitted black olives
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Fresh flat-leaf parsley, torn, to finish
• Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

How to Make Mary Berry Mediterranean Chicken Thighs with Chorizo

Step 1 — Render the Chorizo

Heat a large, deep ovenproof frying pan or roasting tin over a medium heat. Add the chorizo slices — no oil needed, the chorizo releases its own fat. Cook for three to four minutes until golden and the bright orange, paprika-stained fat has rendered into the pan. Remove the chorizo with a slotted spoon and set aside. Leave all the fat in the pan.

Step 2 — Brown the Chicken

Increase the heat to medium-high. Season the chicken thighs generously. Add them skin-side down to the chorizo fat. Cook for five to six minutes without moving until the skin is deeply golden — the chorizo fat gives an extraordinary colour and flavour to the chicken skin at this stage. Turn and cook for two minutes on the other side. Remove and set aside.

Step 3 — Build the Vegetable Base

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the olive oil to the same pan. Add the red onion wedges and cook for five minutes. Add the pepper chunks and garlic cloves and cook for a further three minutes until beginning to soften and take on colour.

Add the tomato purée — stir for one minute. Add the wine and let it bubble for two minutes, scraping up the base.

Step 4 — Add the Tomatoes and Assemble

Preheat your oven to 190°C / 170°C fan / Gas 5.

Add the tinned tomatoes, smoked paprika, and dried oregano to the pan. Season generously. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer.

Return the chorizo to the pan. Scatter the cherry tomatoes over the surface. Nestle the chicken thighs skin-side up among the vegetables — the skin must sit above the sauce.

Step 5 — Oven Bake

Transfer the pan to the oven. Bake uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes until the chicken is completely cooked through, the skin is deeply golden and slightly crisped, and the sauce is rich and slightly reduced.

Add the olives in the final ten minutes of cooking — they need only a brief warming through.

Step 6 — Finish and Serve

Scatter fresh parsley over the top. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Serve directly from the pan at the table.

Tips For Perfect Mediterranean Chicken Thighs with Chorizo

Render the chorizo first and cook everything in its fat. The chorizo fat is the flavour engine of this dish. Every component cooked in it — the chicken skin, the peppers, the onion — absorbs the smoky, paprika-rich flavour. Do not drain it.

Brown the chicken in the chorizo fat. The skin browning in paprika-stained chorizo fat gives a colour and flavour that olive oil alone cannot give. This step takes five to six minutes and makes an enormous difference to the finished dish.

Keep the chicken skin above the sauce. As in every braised chicken recipe on this site — submerged skin goes pale and soft. Nestle the thighs skin-side up with the skin sitting above the sauce level and it will stay golden throughout the oven stage.

Olives go in the final ten minutes only. Olives cooked for the full baking time become slightly bitter and lose their pleasant briny character. Ten minutes of warmth is exactly right.

Serve from the pan at the table. This is a dish that presents beautifully in its cooking pan — the golden chicken, the vibrant red sauce, the green olives, the scattered parsley. Decanting to a serving dish loses half the appeal.

Serving Suggestions

With crusty bread for mopping the sauce — the sauce is extraordinary and needs something to mop it with. With simple roasted potatoes. With rice. With a green salad alongside. With nothing — it is genuinely complete on its own.

How to Store

In the fridge: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in the oven at 160°C covered with foil for 20 minutes.

In the freezer: Freeze in portions for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat gently.

Mary Berry Mediterranean Chicken Thighs with Chorizo Recipe

Mary Berry's Mediterranean chicken thighs with chorizo is a bold, smoky one-pan dinner with roasted peppers, tomatoes, and olives.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Servings: 4 Portions

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: British

Calories: 480

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• Dish:
• 8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
• 200 g cooking chorizo sliced 1cm thick
• 2 red peppers and 1 yellow pepper in 3cm chunks
• 1 large red onion in thick wedges
• 4 garlic cloves unpeeled
• 250 g cherry tomatoes whole
• 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 150 ml dry white wine
• 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 75 g pitted black olives
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Fresh flat-leaf parsley and extra virgin olive oil to finish

CHECK THIS RECIPE  Mary Berry Individual Dauphinoise Potatoes Recipe

Method

 

1. Cook chorizo in a dry pan over medium heat — 3–4 minutes until golden and fat has rendered. Remove — leave fat in pan.
2. Season chicken. Brown skin-side down in chorizo fat over medium-high heat — 5–6 minutes until deeply golden. Turn — 2 minutes. Remove.
3. Add olive oil. Cook red onion 5 minutes. Add peppers and garlic — 3 minutes. Add tomato purée — 1 minute. Add wine — bubble 2 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 190°C / 170°C fan / Gas 5. Add tinned tomatoes, paprika, and oregano. Season. Stir and bring to a simmer. Return chorizo. Scatter cherry tomatoes. Nestle chicken skin-side up.
5. Bake uncovered 30–35 minutes. Add olives in the final 10 minutes.
6. Scatter parsley. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil. Serve from the pan.

Notes

Render chorizo first and cook everything in its fat — it is the flavour engine of the dish.

Brown chicken in chorizo fat — the paprika-stained fat gives extraordinary colour and flavour.

Keep chicken skin above the sauce — submerged skin goes pale and soft.

Olives in the final 10 minutes only — longer cooking makes them slightly bitter.

Serve from the pan — it presents beautifully and loses nothing in translation.

Freezes 3 months. Flavour improves overnight.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use boneless chicken thighs?

Yes — reduce the oven time to 20 to 25 minutes. The skin will not be as dramatic as with bone-in but the flavour of the dish is the same.

Can I use red wine instead of white?

Yes — red wine gives a darker, more robust sauce. Both work well. White wine gives a slightly lighter, more vibrant result.

Can I add capers?

Yes — a tablespoon of rinsed capers added with the olives gives a briny sharpness that works very well with the smoky chorizo.

Can I make this in a slow cooker?

Yes — render the chorizo and brown the chicken as directed, then transfer everything to a slow cooker. Cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours. The skin will not stay crisp but the flavour is excellent.