Chicken and Egg - Janice Cole [65]
Pour off and discard the excess drippings, leaving a light film of oil on the bottom of the pot. Return the pot to medium-high heat. Add the lemons and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in the rosemary and garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Return the chicken to the pan, nestling the pieces among the lemon, rosemary, and garlic. Cover the pot.
Bake the chicken for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir in the Kalamata olives and green olives. Continue baking for another 20 to 25 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink in the center. Remove the chicken and arrange on a serving platter. Remove the olives with a slotted spoon and scatter over and around the chicken. Garnish with the browned lemon wedges, if desired before serving.
SERVES 4
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 1 ¼ pounds)
4 chicken drumsticks (about 1 pound)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 lemons, each cut into 6 wedges
4 rosemary sprigs (5 to 7 inches), stems and all
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
¾ cup pitted Kalamata olives
¾ cup almond-stuffed green olives
Chicken Piled with Eggplant, Tomatoes, Peppers, and Garbanzo Beans
My favorite time of the year to make this dish is in early fall, when the vegetable bins at the market are piled high with local tomatoes, eggplants, and bell peppers. Here, they’re cooked with the chicken, becoming sweet and silky during roasting. Bathed in garlic oil and chicken juices, they literally melt in your mouth.
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Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly oil a large, rimmed baking sheet or coat with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange the chicken on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of the salt and ¼ teaspoon of the pepper. Toss the eggplant, three-fourths of the minced garlic, the tomatoes, onions, and bell pepper together in a large bowl.
Stir together the oil, oregano, and the remaining minced garlic in a small cup. Brush half of the seasoned oil mixture over the chicken. Pour the remaining half over the vegetables, sprinkle with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper, and toss to coat. Arrange the vegetables around the chicken.
Roast the chicken and vegetables for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush the chicken with the pan juices. Stir in the chickpeas. Return to the oven and continue roasting for 20 to 25 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink in the center and the vegetables are tender.
Serve immediately.
SERVES 4
One 3 ½- to 4-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 small to medium unpeeled eggplant (8 ounces) cut into 1 ½-inch pieces (3 cups)
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 plum tomatoes, cut lengthwise into 1-inch wedges (1 ¼ cups)
2 large onions, cut into 1-inch wedges
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded, deveined, and cut into 1 ½-inch pieces
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons dried oregano, preferably Greek
¾ cup canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
Harvest Vegetables and Roast Chicken
While roast chicken with vegetables sounds like a complicated fuss-in-the-kitchen-for-several-hours type of recipe, it’s really quite simple to make. Just chop the vegetables and pile them in the pan, plop the chicken on top, and it’s ready to bake. An hour later, dinner is served. Turning the chicken a couple of times as it roasts helps brown the entire bird, but you can forgo this step if you prefer. The end result is a beautiful browned and crispy chicken accompanied by colorful vegetables, which have been slowly basted with flavorful chicken drippings. You’ll be glad you tried it.
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Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly coat a 13-by-9-inch baking pan with olive oil or nonstick cooking spray. Pile the vegetables,