Updated October 2018: From the DeliciousLA archives, this chicken dinner is so perfect for fall.
Ever since we first tried roasting chicken (we followed Thomas Keller’s tried and true recipe with great success), I have been a big fan of making “roast chicken dinners”. There is nothing like juicy, flavorful, tender chicken and caramelized roast vegetables.
I decided to mix things up a bit and created this recipe with some inspiration from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. Since I didn’t feel like trussing a bird, I took a shortcut and bought 4 chicken leg quarters (includes thigh and drumstick) and added potatoes so we had a complete meal. We like to bring leftovers for lunch, so this recipe serves 4. 🙂
Delicious Roast Chicken Quarters with Fennel, Thyme
Ingredients:
- 4 chicken legs (drumstick + thigh) with skin on
- kosher or coarse salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large bunch fresh thyme (approx 20 sprigs)
- 5-6 sprigs rosemary
- 1/2 lemon
- 5-6 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 large sweet onion thickly sliced
- 1large or 2 small fennel bulbs – top removed, cut into wedges
- 1 lb baby potatoes (i used “baby dutch yellow”) cut in half
- olive oil
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425 F
- Let chicken come to room temperature. Rinse chicken legs and pat dry with a paper towel (try to get rid of as much moisture as possible- this will ensure crispy skin!)
- Brush the skin of the chicken legs with butter, then liberally salt and pepper all over.
- In a separate bowl toss chopped vegetables (fennel, onion, potatoes) with salt, pepper, olive oil, lemon juice and chopped garlic.
- Spread seasoned vegetables around bottom of roasting pan and place chicken legs on top. Tear rosemary sprigs into a few pieces and spread around pan.
- Roast chicken for 35-45 minutes or until juices run clear when cut between leg and thigh. Vegetables should also be tender.
- Remove chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with foil until ready to serve.