Nduja Chicken Thighs with Garden Tomatoes, Capers & Fennel Herb

Mon, 31 August 2026

Serves 4

Ingredients
8 chicken thighs, bone-in and skin-on
120g nduja
500g ripe garden tomatoes
2 tbsp capers, drained
1 good handful fennel herb/fronds
Salt, as required

Method
Prepare the chicken
Season the chicken thighs lightly with salt. Be careful with the salt because the nduja and
capers are already salty.
Render the chicken
Place the thighs skin-side down in a cold, heavy-based pan. Put over a medium heat and
slowly cook for 8–10 minutes, allowing the fat from the skin to render and the skin to become
deeply golden and crisp.
Add the nduja
Turn the chicken over. Add the nduja around the thighs and allow it to cook in the rendered
chicken fat for 2–3 minutes, breaking it up so it melts into the pan.
Add the tomatoes
Roughly chop the garden tomatoes and add them to the pan. Stir gently, coating them in the
nduja and chicken juices.
Braise
Reduce the heat, cover and cook for approximately 15–20 minutes, turning the chicken once
or twice. The tomatoes should collapse into a rich, slightly spicy sauce while the chicken
becomes tender.
Add the capers
Add the capers for the final 5 minutes of cooking. This gives the sauce a sharp, salty
counterpoint to the richness of the nduja.
Finish with fennel herb
Remove from the heat and generously tear or chop the fennel herb through the sauce. Keep
some fresh fennel herb to finish.

Serve
Spoon the tomatoes and nduja sauce onto a warm serving dish and place the chicken thighs
on top, skin-side up. Finish with fresh fennel herb and a few capers