RETRO TOMATOES: Many things from the 1990s are best left behind: hair scrunchies, the music of Ace of Base, and chilli-laced chocolate desserts to name a few. Sun-dried tomatoes were a bit of a curse too. They were big news. They were everywhere. In fact, like the Macarena, they were in so many places that many in the afflicted zones couldn't consider them again for years and years. I was one such person. It took me until about 2012 to look one in the eye, and then a few years longer to actually buy and use them. The reason I undertook the risky task at all, very recently, was my memory of the recipe which follows, which was far and away the most delicious way I ever experienced them. Lo and behold, my 2016 rendition was as good as I remembered. The olives are a match for the intensity of the tomatoes, and long cooking time mellows them. Unlike the abominable salads into which the wrinkled things were usually hurled willy-nilly (along with palm hearts and almond slivers if someone's creative juices were really flowing), they marry sympathetically to everything else in the dish. Mrs Phatidis, wherever you are, thanks so very much indeed.Chicken with Olives & Sun-dried TomatoesFor five: ± 10 chicken thighs, skin off / ½ cup honey / cup proper soy sauce / ½ cup white wine / ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil / ½ cup best sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (note: modern sun-drieds are often made using sulphites instead of salt to aid preservation, so always check labels if you have sensitivity to sulphites) / ½ cup good calamata olives / ½ cup tomato purée / 1 big clove garlic / ¼ cup red wine (not a grippy tannic one).How: in a non-reactive container (preferably glass or ceramic), marinade chicken in honey, soy and white wine for four to eight hours. Take chicken out of marinade and pour marinade into processor with olive oil, tomatoes, olives, tomato purée and garlic. Process until almost smooth. Put chicken and this mash-up into a casserole dish, pour the red wine over and cook for two hours at 160°C, moving chicken about once or twice. Strain off excess oil. Serve with good bread or steamed rice.Making your own: the sad truth is that many sun-dried tomatoes are plain nasty. Too dried, too sweet-sour, and sometimes made with tomatoes which never deserved the extra attention. Making your own version is really easy. You can use the sun - which takes about five days - or the oven. The best and most detailed instructions are at www.pickyourown.org, where there's also a suggestion for drying them on the dashboard of a car left in the sun (remove while driving, for best results)...