Pollo Agridulce

Forgive the fancy name, this is really just sweet and sour chicken without any Asian influence. This recipe was thrown together from memories of a Nigel Slater video where he prepared, based on his love of opposites attracting, this meal. I believe he just called it sticky sweet and sour chicken or something (I couldn't be bothered to rewatch the video once I'd got into the swing of the kitchen). It was subtitled with Spanish translation, and thus the title of the video was a rather sexy name going by 'pollo agridulce'. I gratefully magpie'd it in the knowledge I'd sound that bit more like I know what I'm talking about.
To serve with this Slater provided a really zingy, almost bitter sour salad (well, more of a relish) and to make it more of a meal I threw in some chipolata sausages and diced red-skin potatoes. For a splash of green, I'd suggest a peppery salad, although I used some leftover Canada coleslaw I had made. So we're really sticking to this Spanish theme aren't we?
1)Marinade 5 chicken thighs (skin on, bone in) in a mixture of 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard, 3 crushed garlic cloves, the juice of a lemon plus the emptied husk, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce and 4 of maple syrup. Slater suggested honey but maple syrup is so smokey its sweetness doesn't attack you like honey. Smoosh the chicken around in it, and add 10 chipolata sausages, or about 6 fat ones like Cumberland. Leave to marinate overnight in the fridge or a good few hours at room temperature, in direct sunlight or right next to a starved spaniel.
2)When you're ready to cook, tip the chicken, sausages and marinade into a lightly oiled baking tin and add 4 chunked, unpeeled potatoes.
3)Bake at 200 degrees for 10 minutes, then lower the heat 180 and bake for 30-35 minutes.
4)To prepare the relish, quarter 3 preserved lemons, scoop out the fleshy bit leaving the skin and finely dice. Take 100g unpitted black olives (so much better than the plasticky pitted ones) and I tend to just maul at them to remove the stone and break them apart. Toss together with a head of roughly chopped parsley.
5)Take the chicken out of the oven, and devour with the lemon salad.