In this recipe I have used a dry rub option on crisp chicken thighs, cooked in the oven until tender and humming with spice. Alongside them- baked feta. The idea of baking feta cheese makes it, as an ingredient, far more appealing to me. Perhaps it has been ruined for me by one too many dodgy Greek salads, but this method reduces it’s acidic bite and leaves you with a warm and creamy cheese which impressively holds it’s shape. Alongside the transformed chicken and the crunch of some lightly dressed fennel shavings and herbs, this is a supper, which is far greater than the sum of its parts.
Serves 4 
50 mins For the chicken:
8 chicken thighs
1-2 tbsp rapeseed oil
2-3 red onions, sliced in quarters, roots in tact
2 tbsp ras-el-hanout
2 x 200g packs of feta
2 tsp dried chilli flakes
2 tsp dried oregano
Sea salt and ground black pepper
For the shaved salad:
1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Juice of ½ lemon
1 tsp fennel seeds, toasted
2 heads fennel, shaved on a mandolin
Handful of mint, to garnish
Handful of coriander, to garnish
Large flat low sided baking tin
