It’s so much summer food, I feel like we’ll barely be able to handle this.
You’re like, ROASTED potatoes? BAKED chicken? In the SUMMER?
Sure, why not? You can absolutely grill the chicken if y’awnt, but it was 99 hundred degrees outside, so I baked it. And there was never a baby ounce of regret.
Watch, this is how it’ll go down:
You’ve got four main parts to this meal. The greens (I picked this arugula from our garden, but if you a dang head of iceberg in the fridge, FLY. And I’m not dissing on the iceberg. I actually like it! All that crunch. And like, thinly shaved on a ham sandwich? Please.) are one component, the potatoes are another, the chicken another, and the tomatoes another!
There’s magic in it all. And all together. I feel like there’s an ’80s celebrity singalong in there somewhere.
So the potatoes – since they were already so small I roasted them whole. These are baby something something. I can’t remember. But if you need to cut them in half, or even quarter, you’re still a good person.
You know I make that tomato sauce/topping/drizzlebizzle ALL the time. So I won’t show you again since I already showed you up there in that photo and 17 times infinity (that’s what Will would say) on the blog in the past. But it’s like, chopped tomatoes (cherry/grape are fine, even just chopped romas are great) + extra-virgin olive oil + an herb + a grated garlic clove + salt. That’s IT. And it possesses the most deep, rich summer flavor I cannot TAYELL YEW.
But we’re looking at a photo of chicken so let me help you understand what happened here. You marinate, then you bake. Just like that. You can even marinate the chicken IN the casserole dish you plan on using. Also, a full two pounds of chicken is just fine. This one and a half pounds fed us, but my kids are teeny. I’d advise a lil’ bit more.
What gets it guuud is that final broil in the end. It will char the tops of the chicken here and there, while leaving the rest tender and almost shreddable. Shredable. Shredeable. Shreddy. Never mind.
And this is it! You roast and bake at the same time, so you’re not in the kitchen too long. And like I said, forgo the baking and grill the chicken if your raging inner soul fairies feel led. This is your summer living.
And don’t stress about that oil. You can spoon it over the chicken at the end, and the salad greens like a dressing, or your face. Look, you do you.
Just look at all that color. Remember that other lemon half? Give everything a little spritz. Why not, girl?
The juices from the tomatoes sort of coat everything in this flavor that screams HI IT’S SUMMER DID YOU KNOW? And also, it would be a very good idea to grate or peel some parmesan shavings on top of that whole mess. You’re a smart person – get on in that.
And we’re not even going to talk about how wonderful the soft, roasted potatoes taste next to that pungent tomato flavor. We’re not. It would ruin us so good.
I’m telling you….^^^
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pound chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat (a full two pounds works, too!)
- 5 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 lemon, zested and the juice from half
- 1 Tbs. fresh Thyme leaves
- Coarse salt
- 1 1/2 pound baby potatoes
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbs. chopped chives
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- Coarse salt
- Salad greens of any kind
Instructions
- In a small baking dish or mixing bowl, combine the chicken, oil, garlic, lemon zest, juice, thyme leaves and a good pinch of coarse salt. Let that marinate at least an hour, or up to all day. When ready to cook, transfer chicken to a small casserole dish.
- In another small bowl, combine the quartered tomatoes, oil, chives, garlic and a pinch of salt. Stir and let that sit on the counter as long as you like, while the chicken marinates. The longer it sits, the more flavorful it will be.
- Preheat the oven to 400.
- Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and drizzle with a Tbs. or so of oil. Season with salt and coat with your fingers. Roast the potatoes for 20 minutes. At that point, transfer them down on rack and place the chicken in the oven on the top rack. Bake for 20 minutes. After 40 full minutes, pull the potatoes out if they’re done, and flip the oven to broil. Keep that chicken on the top rack and broil about five minutes, until the chicken starts to brown and char in places.
- Remove from the oven and let it rest about five minutes.
- Serve among plates with roasted potatoes, any garden or salad greens you have, and a good drizzle of those marinated tomatoes!
- Oh, garnish with parmesan cheese because that's just the right thing to do.
- Serves four!
I mentioned all that color, right?
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