Main Courses

Hairy Bikers chicken bhuna is a deep, dryish curry, where chicken thighs and three peppers cook down in a fried onion and spice paste. It comes from their Eat for Life book at 305 calories a portion, and it takes about 55 minutes to serve 4. In the book they pitch it as “the perfect …

Hairy Bikers sticky chicken wings are baked not fried, so they come out glossy and dark in a soy, honey, and apricot glaze. That glaze comes from Our Family Favourites, where the wings serve 4 at around 320 kcal in about 50 minutes. One of the Hairy Bikers reckons he can “strip the meat off …

Hairy Bikers buffalo wings are the proper American bar snack, chicken wings fried until crisp then coated in a hot, buttery Frank’s sauce. A cool blue cheese sauce and celery come on the side, and this Chicken and Egg recipe feeds 4 in 50 minutes at 800 kcal. Si and Dave call this an American …

Forty cloves of garlic sounds like a lot, but that is exactly the point of this French classic. Si and Dave brown a whole chicken, nestle it in a casserole with all that garlic, shallots, and vermouth, then finish the pan juices with a tarragon cream sauce. It comes from their Chicken and Egg book, …

Chicken yassa is a West African classic, and Si and Dave’s version keeps all its fire. It starts with skin-on thighs marinated in a punchy mix of scotch bonnet, ginger, garlic, lemon, and Dijon mustard, then braised with deeply caramelised onions and green olives. It comes from their Ultimate Comfort Food book, serves 4 at …

The secret to Si and Dave’s chicken shawarma is patience, since the flavour is built the day before you cook. Boneless thighs sit overnight in a marinade of lemon, garlic, and warm spices, cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, and a little cinnamon and cayenne, then get grilled and sliced. It comes from their Chicken and Egg …

There is a shortcut quesadilla and there is this one, and Si and Dave went for the proper version. It starts with a big batch of Mexican pulled chicken, slow-cooked for hours in a spiced tomato sauce, then that tender, saucy meat gets loaded into tortillas with peppers, two cheeses, and avocado. It comes from …

Most chicken puttanesca just drops thighs into a jar of sauce, but Si and Dave do something cleverer. They tie each boneless thigh into a neat round parcel with string, brown it, then bake it in a punchy anchovy-and-caper tomato sauce, all served over linguine. It comes from their Chicken and Egg book and serves …

Think of everything that tastes of the South of France on one plate: white wine, olives, capers, lemon, and sweet roasted tomatoes. That is Hairy Bikers chicken provençal, a one-pan braise of crisp-skinned chicken from their Chicken and Egg book, serving 4 at around 650 kcal with soft polenta. The chicken does not stew in …

This is the version of paprika chicken to cook when you are watching the calories, since it comes in at just 282 a portion. It is from the Hairy Dieters book, feeds 6, and Si and Dave built it by taking a rich Romanian dish and quietly stripping out the fat. The clever bits are …