My goodness, that is a LOOOOONG blog post title.
Jamie may have redeemed himself from the ribs recipe a bit….but still, Jamie, seriously, you need to give me a bit greater direction here….again with the bunches…and the “glugs”…wtf is a glug and how many tablespoons is that? Oh and the tri-sliced chicken thighs? So one has a bone, two don’t? Does that strike anyone else as odd? Just me? Maybe?
The lack of direction aside, this recipe is pretty darn delicious….the flavours are rather lovely and the chicken thighs with that crispy skin is damn good (and yes, I know, skin is horrible and whatever…but on the odd occasion, when it’s crispy …it’s delish, apparently). I have given a few samples to friends (including my lovely co-blogger Cindy)and my dad and they were all big fans of the dish.
Pretty
It was relatively easy to make in spite of the lack of solid direction on parts like the slicing of the chicken thighs into three, which leaves two slices of meat with no bone and one with bone…should this bone be removed? I don’t know…it doesn’t say to remove it and you can’t tell from the pics.Otherwise, the prep is super easy. The hardest thing is probably skinning the tomatoes, but it’s not hard and according to Jamie, not necessary…but I did it just because he recommended it.
Oh and one other weird side note – chicken thighs in North America are clearly significantly bigger than what is in the UK…because he said to use a dozen thighs and that should roast in one layer in a roasting pan (in the pic it looked like a cast iron dutch oven)…well there definitely was not a single layer with the dozen chicken thighs I used…so take note of that, folks…maybe use nine if you want similar volume.
Saucy
One thing that I did do that is not in the book and well, I was feeling saucy (pun TOTALLY intended)… was deglaze my dutch oven and make all the drippings into a bit of a sauce. I brought the juices to a simmer and had them all thicken up. Then I added a bit of chicken stock (and I mixed in a bit of cornstarch into this…for a bit of added thickening) and it turned out beautifully. I then tossed it on top the dish when I served. So. Darn. Good.
In spite of the small shortcomings in direction (which is something that appears pretty common in Jamie’s book), this recipe is definitely one I would make again and even consider making for company on a comfort food style sort of dinner.
Recipe rating: 3.75 knives out of five
Om, nom, nom,
Lisa
*****
Crispy and Sticky Chicken Thighs with Squashed New Potatoes and Tomatoes
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 pounds new potatoes, scrubbed
- 12 boned chicken thighs, skin on, preferably free-range or organic
- Olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/4 pounds cherry tomatoes, different shapes and colors if you can find them
- 1 bunch fresh oregano, leaves picked
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Red wine vinegar
Directions
Put the potatoes into a large saucepan of salted boiling water and boil until cooked.
While the potatoes are cooking, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Cut each chicken thigh into 3 strips and place in a bowl. Rub the meat all over with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, then toss.
Heat a large frying pan, big enough to hold all the chicken pieces snugly in 1 layer, and put the chicken into the pan, skin side down. If you don’t have a pan that’s big enough, feel free to cook the chicken in 2 batches. Toss and fry over a high heat for 10 minutes or so, until almost cooked, then remove with a slotted spoon to an ovenproof pan or dish.
Prick the tomatoes with a sharp knife. Place them in a bowl, cover with boiling water and leave for a minute or so. Drain and, when cool enough to handle, pinch off their skins. You don’t have to, but by doing this they will become lovely and sweet when cooked, and their intense flavor will infuse the potatoes. By now the potatoes will be cooked. Drain them in a colander and lightly crush them by pushing down on them with your thumb.
Bash up most of the oregano leaves with a pinch of salt in a pestle and mortar, or a Flavor Shaker if you have one. Add 4 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, a good splash of red wine vinegar and some pepper and give everything another bash. Add to the chicken with the potatoes, the tomatoes and the rest of the oregano leaves. Toss everything together carefully. Spread out in a single layer in an appropriately sized roasting pan, and bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven until golden.
Lovely served with an arugula salad dressed with some lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil, and a nice glass of white wine (I did neither of these…I just ate a bit of this dish as is as I wasn’t super hungry).
