Winter is time for comfort food. Roasted chicken and potatoes scream ultimate comfort! In my most recent Lunch with Lydia class, I prepared this recipe with great feedback.
We used chicken thighs, which are a great cut to use for roasting. Chicken thighs can be very forgiving if over cooked, and will also offer great depth of flavor. The chicken is laid on top of potatoes, leeks and onions. This allows the flavor of the chicken to render into the potatoes and leeks. At the end, you have a delicious meal with tender potatoes marinated in chicken broth, crisp skinned roasted chicken, and then top it off with a pine nut lemon gremolata. The gremolata gives the dish a nice brightness at the end with lemon, and a nuttiness of pine nuts.
Give it a try! You’ll love it!
Roast chicken with potatoes and leeks and pine nut gremolata
Ingredients
- 4 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges
- 4 cups leeks, cut crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick pieces (about 3-4 leeks)
- 2 red onions, cut into wedges
- 1 garlic head, cloves separated and peeled (10 to 12 cloves)
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt, divided
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 4 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and legs (about 12 pieces), trimmed
Pine Nut Lemon Gremolata
- 1 small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves and tender stems, tough stem ends removed
- ⅓ cup pine nuts, toasted
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F with rack 8 inches from heat. Arrange potatoes, leeks, and garlic cloves in bottom of a large broiler-safe roasting pan. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Toss to coat. Pour broth into roasting pan
- Arrange chicken pieces, skin side up, on top of vegetable mixture in roasting pan. Brush chicken evenly with remaining 2 tablespoons oil; sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
- Roast in preheated oven on rack 8 inches from heat until vegetables are tender and a thermometer inserted in thickest portion of chicken registers 165°F, 40 to 45 minutes, spooning pan juices over chicken after about 20 minutes.
- Increase oven temperature to broil. (Do not remove roasting pan from oven.) Broil until chicken skin is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool 10 minutes.
- Transfer chicken pieces and vegetables to a platter. Spoon sauce from roasting pan over chicken; scatter generously with gremolata (about 3/4 cup). Serve hot alongside any remaining gremolata for sprinkling.
Pine Nut Lemon Gremolata
- Combine parsley, pine nuts, lemon zest, and garlic on a cutting board. Sprinkle with salt, and finely chop mixture together. Transfer gremolata to a bowl, and set aside.