One tray summer: Three effortless traybakes to save time and reduce washing up

Simplify your cooking routine and minimise cleanup with these flavourful and easy-to-prepare dishes

Easy, flavourful traybakes with minimal cleanup (Sorted Food)

If you are looking to reduce washing up and time spent in the kitchen, this month’s Budget Bites column, in collaboration with Sorted Food, is for you.

Maximising on taste and minimising on both mess and food waste, these summer traybake recipes also make the most of your staple ingredients while keeping your fresh shopping list minimal.

We’ve also provided a handy shopping list for the ingredients (thoguh hopefully most of it will be knocking about already), which are used across all recipes to ensure minimal food waste. You just need to decide where to shop, whether it’s locally or online.

Shopping list

• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 red onion
• 600g loose white potatoes
• 2 red bell peppers
• 2 corn on the cobs
• 80g watercress
• 30g fresh parsley
• 1 lime
• 250ml whole milk
• 200g feta
• 3 tbsp mayonnaise
• 4 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin-on
• 225g chorizo
• 2 salmon fillets, skin on
• 200g orzo
• 250g microwave brown rice
• 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
• 400g tinned black beans
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 chicken stock cube
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Chicken, chorizo and red pepper traybake with aioli

A vibrant and hearty traybake featuring chicken, chorizo and red peppers, served with a creamy garlic aioli (Sorted Food)

If time is on your side, level up this dish by making a saffron mayo to serve with it instead of our cheat’s aioli.

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

600g loose white potatoes

2 red bell peppers

1 red onion

100g chorizo

4 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin-on

3 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp mayonnaise

1 clove garlic

15g fresh parsley

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C.

2. Prep the veg and chorizo. Cut 600g of potatoes into bite-sized chunks, then deseed and cut 2 bell peppers into similar-sized chunks. Halve and roughly dice 1 red onion, then cut 100g of chorizo into ½ cm thick discs.

3. Add the veg and chorizo to a large roasting tray along with 4 chicken thighs. Toss with 3 tbsp of oil and a generous pinch of salt. Ensure the chicken thighs are positioned on top of everything, skin-side up.

4. Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until the chicken’s skin is crisp, the meat is cooked throughout, and the veg is soft. Get on with the rest of the dish in the next steps while you wait.

5. Add 3 tbsp of mayo to a bowl, then peel and finely grate in 1 clove of garlic. Beat to combine.

6. Finely chop 15g of parsley, then crack on with a bit of washing up and chill out while you wait for the tray bake.

7. Once the tray bake is ready, remove it from the oven and dollop on the aioli. Scatter over the parsley and serve straight from the tray.

Sweetcorn, spiced black bean and chorizo traybake

A colourful and spicy combination of sweet corn, black beans and chorizo, perfect for warm weather dining (Sorted Food)

This dish is best eaten when the weather is hot, as corn on the cob is quite a season-specific eat!

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

125g chorizo

400g tinned black beans

400g tinned chopped tomatoes

250g microwave brown rice

2 tsp smoked paprika

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp caster sugar

2 corn on the cobs

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 lime

15g fresh parsley

100g feta

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C.

2. Finely dice 125g of chorizo and add it to a large roasting tray.

3. Tip in 1 400g drained tin of black beans, 1 400g tin of chopped tomatoes, and 1 250g pouch of cooked brown rice. Add 2 tsp of smoked paprika, 2 tsp of cumin, 1 tsp of sugar, and a generous pinch of salt.

4. Give everything a good mix in the tray and spread it out to form 1 even layer.

5. Carefully cut 2 cobs of corn crossways in half. To make it easier, you can steady them on a kitchen cloth.

6. Nestle the corn cobs into the bean mix and drizzle over 2 tbsp of oil.

7. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes, until the corn is golden in places and the bean mix has darkened and reduced. Get on with the rest of the dish in the next steps while you wait.

8. Cut 1 lime into 4 wedges, then finely chop 15g of parsley. Crack on with a bit of washing up while you wait for the tray bake.

9. Once the tray bake is ready, crumble over 100g of feta, scatter over the chopped parsley, and serve with the lime wedges.

Salmon, watercress and orzo traybake

A fresh and flavourful traybake with tender salmon, watercress and creamy orzo, topped with crumbled feta (Sorted Food)

If you can’t get your hands on watercress, spinach will work nearly as well!

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

250ml whole milk

1 chicken stock cube

1 clove garlic

80g watercress

200g orzo

2 salmon fillets, skin on

100g feta

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C.

2. Add 250ml of milk to a measuring jug along with 1 stock cube and 1 peeled clove of garlic. Add 60g of the watercress and blitz everything together with a hand blender, until smooth. Season with a generous pinch of salt.

3. Add 200g of orzo to a medium-sized baking dish, then tip in the blended mixture and 200ml of water. Give everything a good mix and ensure the orzo is spread out into 1 even layer.

4. Cover the dish tightly with tin foil.

5. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, until the orzo is nearly soft and has absorbed ¾ of the liquid. Chill out while you wait.

6. Once the orzo is nearly soft, remove the foil and lay on the salmon fillets, skin-side down.

7. Return to the oven for 8-10 minutes, until the salmon is opaque light pink throughout – the orzo should be soft. Crack on with a bit of washing up while you wait.

8. Once ready, scatter 100g of feta over the tray bake and finish with the remaining raw watercress. Tuck in!

In response to the rising cost of living, we have teamed up with Sorted Food to bring you easy, affordable, quick and (most importantly) tasty recipes once a month. Find out more about Sorted and their nifty meal-planning app Sidekick at sortedfood.com/sidekick.