Crammed-in Roast Chicken Thighs and Vegetables
Last December I was looking for a good recipe for make ahead gravy. I found this recipe. I have no idea if that recipe works or not. When I was shopping I couldn’t find any chicken wings. They were all gone. But there were trays of chicken thighs. I decided instead to roast the chicken thighs and vegetables and maybe make a soup from them. I let them roast away for nearly 3 hours.
Never made the soup. I couldn’t believe how good it tasted just as it was. And it was so easy to make. Also, this meal is one of the cheapest you’ll find – that isn’t vegan or vegetarian. A lot of vegan staples, lentils, beans, etc., are very inexpensive.
The only thing I added was the potatoes. What I love about this is the way the vegetables carmelise in the fat and juices from the roasting chicken. I knew I wanted some potatoes roasted this way.
What is the effect of cramming everything in on the one baking tin? I wanted to this to be a one tray meal. The more space there is around meat and vegetables on a baking tray the quicker they cook. Vegetables and meat that are crammed-in with meat like this will take longer to cook. But throughout the cooking time they stew in their juices. And I find this way they are so full of flavour.
It also means there is a lot of saturated fat in this recipe. To balance this out, when serving make sure half the plate is filled with steamed (or microwaved) green vegetables.
Ingredients
- ~1 kg (5 pieces) chicken oyster thighs
- 6 potatoes, peeled & quartered
- 2 carrots, sliced into 2” slices
- 1 leek, trimmed, cut in half, cut in half again lengthwise
- 2 - 3 celery sticks, halved
- 2 onions, peeled & quartered
- 2 garlic cloves
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt & freshly ground black pepper
- sprigs of thyme and/or rosemary, adds flavour - but not essential if you don’t have them to hand
Instructions
- Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before you intend roasting them and leave on the counter. When ready, rub in a ¼ teaspoon of olive oil into a roasting tin (at least 15″ x 10″) and turn on the oven to 200° C. Bruise and peel the garlic cloves. Chop one in half and the other into three pieces. Season the top of the chicken thighs with salt and freshly ground pepper. Turn the thighs over and place a piece of garlic under the skin of each thigh. Pull the skin so that it is covering the base of the thigh as much as possible and then season with salt and freshly ground back pepper. If you have some rosemary and/or thyme to hand, place some under each chicken thigh before placing them on the baking tin.
- If possible try to lay each piece flat on the baking tin. You may have to lay some vegetables over each other. Celery and leeks roast more quickly so lay them on top of each other, if needed. When all the vegetables are in the tin, pour a tablespoon of olive oil over the vegetable - not over the chicken. Leave the chicken dry so that the skin will crispen while roasting. Sprinkle some salt and freshly ground black pepper over the vegetables.
- Every 45 minutes or so, take out the tin, tilt it over a little so that the juices pool at one end. Spoon the juices over the vegetables - just the vegetables. Don’t worry about the chicken drying out. It’s also stewing in the juices, while the skin is getting crispy.
- Divide among 4 plates and serve with lots of steamed (or microwaved) green vegetables.
