I’m particularly fond of recipes that require little or no effort to prepare that produce great results; who isn’t?

In this case, all the ingredients get thrown together to marinate for a few hours then the whole lot gets tipped into a roasting pan.

The combination of lemon zest, cardamom, honey and sesame seeds is particularly good and for the most moist result I recommend using chicken thighs on the bone with the skin left on.

This is also very good eaten cold, making it ideal for a picnic.

Whether you eat the chicken warm or cold, this is drop dead easy which frees you up to do other stuff.

CARDAMOM LEMON CHICKEN with HONEY & SESAME

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons of extra-v olive oil

4 tablespoons of runny honey

2 fat cloves of garlic, crushed

Zest of 2 lemons and the juice of one

6 green cardamom pods, cracked open

1 teaspoon of coarsely ground black pepper

A good pinch of sea salt

8 chicken thighs (skin on, bone in)

1 tablespoon of sesame seeds

Action:

Combine everything except for the sesame seeds in a Ziploc bag or sealed plastic container (not metal) – make sure everything is well mixed then chill for 8-48 hours.

Preheat the oven to 425F (220C)

Arrange the chicken in a shallow roasting pan, skin side up – pour the entire marinade over the chicken.

Before putting the chicken in the pre-heated oven, reduce the temp to 375F (190C) and roast for 35 minutes, basting twice during that time.

After 25 minutes, sprinkle the sesame seeds over the chicken – roast for the remaining 10 minutes.

Serve warm or cold.