Dry-Brined Chicken Legs with Sweet & Sour Peppers

Mix the caster sugar with 1 tbsp of fine sea salt and liberally season the chicken legs all over. If you’ve got time, you can leave these in the fridge overnight, or do this before you go to work, then whip them out when you get home. Don’t have that kind of time? No bother, just salt them for at least 30 minutes. Don’t forget to bring your chicken out to come to room temperature before cooking.

Preheat the oven to 250°C.

Cut the peppers into chunky slices – I like to take the cheeks off the side of the peppers and leave them in large, craggy shapes. Peel and halve the onions then cut them into 5mm-thick slivers and toss into a large roasting tin. Set the peppers on top of the onions, skin side up. Nestle in the bay leaves, coat the whole lot with lots of olive oil and sprinkle over a healthy pinch of salt, then slide into the oven and roast for 13–15 minutes, or until the peppers are starting to char and blister.

Thinly slice two of the garlic cloves and scrunch through the bay leaves in your hands. Pull the tray out of the oven, stir the sliced garlic, bay leaves and remaining sugar through the veggies, then push them to the sides and clear space in the centre. Pat the chicken legs dry and nestle them in the middle, skin side up. Slide back into the oven and reduce the heat to 190°C. Cook for 40–45 minutes until the chicken legs are brown and the skin is crispy and caramelised. After 30 minutes, add the vinegar and stir through the veggies for the last 10 minutes and check in on the chicken legs. If they need a bit more colour towards the end, crank up the heat to 210°C for the last 5–10 minutes.

While the chicken cooks, cook the fregola in boiling salted water for 8–10 minutes until just tender. Drain and toss with a little olive oil to stop it clumping.

Mix the tahini and yoghurt in a bowl. Add the grated zest and juice of the lemon, a big pinch of salt and finely grate in the remaining garlic clove. Add a little ice-cold water to loosen the mix into a shiny, swoop-able texture.

Pull the chicken legs out of the oven and let them rest for 5 minutes.

Spread some of the tahini across warm plates and top with fregola. Add a chicken leg to each and then cover with the jammy peppers, onions and bay leaves, with plenty of the roasting juices. Finish with a few twists of pepper and serve.