When it comes to traybakes, chicken is the undisputed hero, because it’s endlessly adaptable and perfect for carrying bold, global flavours. First up, some eastern Mediterranean chicken meatballs, flecked with feta and black olives for a sharp, savoury punch. Then a Persian-style saffron chicken and rice; the rice cooks with the chicken, absorbing all the flavours of the sunshine-yellow saffron and crisping up at the edges. Finally, a Korean-inspired chicken and potato traybake in which gochujang and soy create a deeply savoury sauce that elevates a simple midweek meal.

Feta-licious chicken meatballs (pictured top)

I’m a big fan of chicken meatballs: they are juicy, light and really easy to make. These ones are flavoured with feta, olives and Turkish pepper flakes, and they’re cooked in a rich tomato sauce. Serve them with salad, pasta or a jacket potato, and they’re epic the next day for a simple lunch al desko.

Prep 15 min
Cook 15 min
Serves 4

For the meatballs
600g chicken breasts, or minced chicken
150g feta
50g black pitted olives
4 spring onions, trimmed and roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 tsp Turkish pepper flakes
1 tsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper

For the sauce
680g tomato passata
2 tsp Turkish pepper flakes
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
50g feta
1 small handful finely chopped parsley leaves

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. To make the meatballs, put the chicken breasts (or mince) in a food processor and add all the remaining meatball ingredients and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Blitz smooth, then roll into 16 meatballs.

Swirl a few tablespoons of the passata around the base of a 24cm x 32cm roasting tin. Mix the remaining passata with the Turkish pepper flakes, dried oregano, garlic powder and a big pinch of salt and pepper.

Arrange the meatballs in the roasting tin, then pour the sauce over the top to cover. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through – cut one in half to test: it should be pale in colour and firm-textured all the way through. If it’s not quite there, return the tin to the oven for a few minutes more, until the meatballs are cooked.

Crumble the remaining 50g feta over the top, scatter on the parsley and serve immediately.

Seoulful Korean garlic chicken

Photograph: Martin Poole/Penguin Random House

This is a take on dakdori tang, a Korean chicken and potato stew, reimagined as a quick and easy traybake. It’s packed with flavour, thanks to a lip-smacking sauce made from gochujang, vinegar and soy sauce. Chicken thighs and onions roast together with potatoes that soak up every drop of that rich, deeply savoury sauce.

Prep 10 min
Cook 1 hr 10 min
Serves 4

4 tbsp gochujang paste
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
3 tbsp rice wine
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp caster sugar
4-5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1kg skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
250ml hot chicken stock
2 onions, peeled and roughly chopped
8 garlic cloves, peeled
650g baby potatoes, halved, larger ones cut into thirds
4 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
2 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Whisk the gochujang, soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, sugar and ginger in a jug.

Put the chicken in a large bowl, spoon over three tablespoons of the gochujang sauce and toss to coat. Pour the stock into the jug with the remaining sauce and whisk.

Put the onions, garlic, potatoes and chicken in a 30cm x 40cm roasting tin, then pour over the sauce/stock mix. Cover the tin with foil, then roast for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, turn down the heat to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6, then return the tin to the oven for 30-40 minutes, until the chicken is lovely and crisp and the tops of the potatoes are golden. Scatter on the spring onions and sesame seeds, and serve at once.

Persian-style saffron chicken rice

Perfumed with saffron and cardamom, and with crisp chicken and fluffy rice, this is one of the most exquisite traybakes around. I was inspired by a stunning Persian dish, zereshk polo ba morgh, or saffron-roast chicken with rice and barberries. The OG is all cooked separately, with the chicken in one pot, crisp rice (or tahdig) in another, and barberries candied in sugar syrup in another. Mine, however, has more of a laid-back, throw-it-all-in-the-oven vibe. I love piling on the garnishes for colour and texture – more is more in my opinion – but feel free to scale back if I’ve gone a little overboard.

Prep 10 min
Cook 55 min
Serves 4

1 pinch saffron
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
3 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp olive oil
Juice of 1 orange
2 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp turmeric
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
Salt and pepper
500ml hot chicken stock
1kg skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
250g basmati rice
3 cardamom pods, bashed open
1 handful of barberries or pomegranate seeds
10g pistachios, roughly chopped
1 handful coriander leaves
300g Greek yoghurt – I use 10% fat

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Put the saffron in a large bowl, add two tablespoons of just-boiled water, then stir and leave to infuse for a few minutes.

Add the garlic, tomato puree, olive oil, orange juice, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon and a very generous pinch each of salt and pepper to the the saffron bowl, then mix to a paste.

Whisk half the saffron paste into the stock. Put the chicken thighs in the remaining paste in the bowl and toss to coat.

Tip the rice into a 30cm x 40cm roasting tin and pour the stock on top. Add the cardamom pods, then arrange the chicken on top. Cover the tray with foil, bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for another 20-25 minutes, until the chicken is golden and cooked through and the rice nicely crisp on top.

Garnish with the barberries or pomegranate seeds, pistachios and coriander leaves, and serve immediately with yoghurt.

  • These recipes are edited extracts from The Greatest Traybake Cookbook Ever: Weeknight-Friendly Traybakes with Weekend-Worthy Flavours, by John Gregory-Smith, published by Penguin Michael Joseph on 29 January at £25. To order a copy for £22.50, go to guardianbookshop.com.