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Crispy Oven Roasted Chicken Thighs
Served with Shaved Spring Vegetable Salad
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Serves 4
Prep time: 15 minutes Total time: 60 minutes |
Adapted from The Flexitarian Table
- 2 fennel bulbs
- 1 bunch radishes
- 4 sunchokes
- 2 apples such as Gala or Winesap
- 4 lemons, preferably organic
- 1 bunch chives
- 1 bunch mint
- 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
Shopping List
- Black pepper
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic
- Red pepper flakes
- Rice vinegar
- Sea salt
Pantry Items
- 9X13 baking dish
- Chef’s knife
- Heavy skillet
- Instant read thermometer
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing bowls
- Paper towels
- Paring knife
- Tongs
- Vegetable Peeler
- Whisk
- Zester or Microplane
Tools
- Wine: Try a Sauvignon Blanc
- Dessert: Goat cheese and seasonal fruit
- This salad makes excellent leftovers. You may also want to try Parmesan Toast from The Flexitarian Table
Suggestions
- When you walk in the door
- Rinse the chicken, pat it dry and sprinkle with sea salt
- Preheat the oven to 400F
- Get out Pantry Items
- Get out Tools
- Assemble the ingredients
- Open the wine and refrigerate it
- Prep
- Peel and smash the garlic.
- Rinse and pat dry the mint. Pluck 1/2 cup leaves. Chop.
- Zest 1 lemon, mince the zest.
- Squeeze the juice of 2 lemons through your fingers into a measuring cup. You’ll need 1/3 cup total. If you need more juice, squeeze another lemon.
- Cut the remaining lemon into quarters.
- In a bowl, mash the garlic to a paste with 1-1/2 tsps. salt. Whisk in the mint, the lemon zest, 3 tbsps. lemon juice and 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes.
- Whisking constantly, add 1/4 cup olive oil.
- Put the chicken in the baking dish and pour over the marinade. Toss the pieces until they are thoroughly coated and let stand at room temperature for 20-30 minutes.
- Start Cooking
- While the chicken marinates, make the salad.
- Remove the core, stalks and and any damaged outer leaves from the fennel.
- Chop enough of the fennel fronds to give you 2 tbsps.
- Chop 2 tbsps. chives.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup olive oil, 2 tbsps. rice vinegar, the remaining 2 tbsps. lemon juice, the chives and the fennel fronds.
- Rinse, core and quarter the apples then slice as thinly as possible (if you have one, use a mandoline
for this salad). Add to the vinaigrette.
- Peel and slice the sunchokes as thinly as possible. Add to the vinaigrette.
- Slice the fennel bulbs as thinly as possible. Add to the vinaigrette.
- Slice 6-8 radishes as thinly as possible. Add to the vinaigrette and toss, toss, toss.
- Season the salad with salt and pepper, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Now that you’re done with the mandoline, pour yourself a glass of wine and cook the chicken.
- Place the skillet over medium-high heat.
- Lift the chicken thighs from the marinade and pat them dry with paper towels and lay them skin side down in the pan. Save the marinade.
- Cook until the skin in nice and crispy, about 5 minutes.
- Turn the chicken pieces and put the skillet in the oven until cooked through, 15-20 minutes.
- You’ve got some time now so set the table and do a little clean up so you can relax after dinner.
- When the chicken is done, 180F on the instant read thermometer, remove it from the oven and transfer it to a platter. Pour the oil out of the pan and add the reserved marinade to the pan, stir and simmer for a couple of minutes, scrapping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken and garnish the platter with lemon wedges.
- Remove the salad from the fridge, toss and taste for seasoning before bringing it to the table.
- Dinner is served. Don’t forget the wine!
