This is almost the next best thing to cooking your main and side on a sheet pan. To be clear, though, this is not a one-pan experience. By giving the chicken a simultaneous turn in a separate skillet while the hash is roasting in the oven, you're sure to produce crisped skin and meat that is done by the time the vegetables are tender. You transfer the browned chicken to finish atop the hash, infusing the vegetables with more flavor.
Speaking of, the flavors are simple and straightforward, so your condiment choices are optional, and varied. Serve with your favorite mustard, aioli, spicy or sweet chile sauce, Worcestershire or splash of rice vinegar.
To cut back on calories and fat, you can take a page from nutritionist Ellie Krieger's playbook: Cook the chicken with its skin on, but remove the skin just before serving. It will have lent the dish flavor and kept the thigh meat moist.
Skillet-Roasted Chicken Thighs With Potato-Carrot Hash
12 ounces red-skinned small potatoes
1 medium onion
2 medium carrots
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided use
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
Leaves from 4 stems fresh thyme
1 ½ pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1 ½ teaspoons sweet paprika
½ lemon
Place a 9- or 10-inch cast-iron or other oven-safe skillet in the oven; heat to 450 degrees.
Cut the potatoes and onion into ½-inch dice. Scrub the carrots, then trim and cut them into ½-inch dice; you want all these pieces to be the same size. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the oil, then season generously with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Strip the leaves from the thyme stems, letting them fall on the pile of vegetables.
Remove the hot skillet from the oven; scrape the seasoned vegetables into it. Return to the oven; roast (top rack) for 15 minutes, using a spatula to shove them around after 7 minutes.
Meanwhile, use a small, sharp knife to detach and remove the thigh bones from each piece of chicken. Trim excess skin, if desired. Generously season the chicken all over with salt, pepper and the paprika.
Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil until shimmering in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken skin sides down; cook for a total of 10 minutes, turning it over once the skin sides are nicely browned.
Remove the pan of vegetables from the oven; give them a stir. Use tongs to transfer the chicken thighs to the big skillet, placing them atop the vegetables. Return them to the oven and roast for about 10 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. The hash vegetables should be tender.
Squeeze the lemon half's juice evenly over the chicken and hash. If desired, drizzle a little of the chicken pan juices over the hash. Serve hot, right from the pan.
Makes 2 servings.
Recipe adapted from Dinner: The Playbook by Jenny Rosenstrach (Ballantine, 2014)
Nutrition information: Each serving with skin contains approximately 540 calories, 26 g protein, 42 g fat, 16 g carbohydrate (4 g sugar), 145 mg cholesterol, 310 mg sodium and 3 g fiber.
Food on 11/27/2019