lemon chicken with potatoes and chickpeas
It’s humbling that way every September, without fail, knocks me on my rump. One week, you’re breezy and unscheduled, reading books on a beach and tearing lobster apart with your bare hands (indeed, we were in Maine) and the next you’re realizing a certain fetid backpack was never emptied on the last day of school in June, scrambling for after-school care, and despite the fact that I work every week of the year, somehow there’s a lot more to do. If dinner can’t be made in one pan in which everything cooks at once, I haven’t been making it. And yet I’ve made this chicken dish four times in the last month; it’s clearly time to shout about it across the internet.
I trace this back to a newsletter from Clare de Boer last April (and if you don’t subscribe, you should; it’s wonderful), in which she was on a mission to find a sheet pan chicken recipe that actually had crispy skin, and found it in a pan of chicken thighs with lemon and onion. I, too, am a crispy chicken skin skeptic; it’s not that I don’t believe it gets crisp, but I find it rarely stays that way once it has rested or when other ingredients join the party. But, curiosity got the better of me — curiosity, but not, uh, any kind of adherence to the recipe as written because see above: I need everything to be a meal-in-one-pan right now. I added potatoes (because potatoes with chicken and lemon are excellent) and chickpeas (I’m honestly less clear on why, but it felt right) to a baking dish (not sheet pan) and despite all of my changes, was still entirely delighted with the outcome.
The chicken thighs are utterly crisp on top and the lemon, onion, garlic, oregano, and olive oil underneath collect the chicken drippings and swirl it into a delicious sauce that perfumes the potato wedges and chickpeas as they roast. Rind-on lemon slices, something I often find to be an unwelcome interruption in dishes, are fantastic here, mellowed by the oil and general brothiness and sweetened by the onion. In one round, I tried to remove the chickpeas to simplify the dish and (I could not make this up) received an irritated text from a teenager: “Dad said you’re making the chicken without the chickpeas — why? I like them.” Unwilling to cross a 15 year-old demanding legumes, they’ve stayed.
Podcast! A new episode of my podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb is out and I’m a little biased but I think this is one of the most fun ones yet, on the mighty BLT sandwich. You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts and catch up on any episodes you’ve missed right here. New episodes drop every other Monday. I hope you enjoy listening as much as we’re enjoying the conversation.
Video
Lemon Chicken with Potatoes and Chickpeas
Note: I’ve finished this with capers, with chopped green olives, and even once with some lightly dressed arugula (lemon, olive oil, salt, and pepper) but even with none of those things or a handful of parsley, as shown here, this dish is perfect and fits the bill for overly busy days.
- 2 lemons, halved
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano, divided
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 medium-large bone-in chicken thighs (about 2.25 pounds total)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus an additional drizzle
- 1 large yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 3/4 pound yukon gold potatoes (about 3 medium), unpeeled, each cut into 8 wedges
- Big handful chopped flat-leaf parsley, to finish
Prepare the chicken thighs: In a large bowl, juice half of one lemon and whisk in 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano and I use 1 teaspoon kosher salt (Diamond brand; use less of others) per pound of chicken. Add chicken thighs and turn them over in the lemon juice mixture so they’re coated. You can either finish the dish right away, or if you’re getting ahead for later, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill until needed.
Heat oven: To 450°F (yes, really!)
Assemble dish: Halve and very thinly slice second half of first lemon, fishing out any lemon seeds. In a 9×13-inch baking dish (or lasagna pan), combine lemon slices, 3 tablespoons olive oil, onion, garlic, remaining 1/2 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and many grinds of black pepper. Add potato wedges and chickpeas and stir until everything is evenly mixed and coated. Remove chicken thighs from bowl and place them atop the potato-chickpea mixture, skin side-up. Pour any juices left in the bowl over the potatoes and chickpeas. Pat the chicken skin dry and drizzle it lightly with more olive oil.
Cook: Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 45 minutes, or until the chicken thighs are cooked through. The chicken skin should be crisp. Carefully transfer the chicken thighs to a plate. Stir the potato-chickpea mixture just to remix it and distribute it evenly in the pan, and return the pan to the oven for another 10-15 minutes, to ensure the potatoes finish cooking and everything gets a little brown.
Return chicken thighs (and any juices that have collected on the plate) to the potato-chickpea pan. I don’t generally find that the thighs have cooled enough in 10 minutes that they need to rewarm, but if yours have, pop the whole thing back in the oven for a couple minutes. Cut remaining lemon into wedges.
To serve: Sprinkle with parsley, serve with additional lemon wedges for squeezing over the pan, and eat right away.
Previously
6 months ago: Turkey Meatloaf for Skeptics
1 year ago: Simple Eggplant Parmesan
2 years ago: Eggplant Involtini
3 years ago: Baked Farro with Summer Vegetables
4 years ago: Shaved Fennel and Crushed Olive Salad and Corn Coconut Soup
5 years ago: Salted Caramel Pretzel Blondies
6 years ago: Foolproof Cacio e Pepe
7 years ago: Cheesecake Bars with All The Berries and Corn Chowder with Chile, Lime, and Cotija
8 years ago: Eggplant Parmesan Melts and Even More Perfect Blueberry Muffins
9 years ago: Angel Hair Pasta with Raw Tomato Sauce, Crispy Peach Cobbler, and Corn Chowder Salad
10 years ago: Strawberries and Cream with Graham Crumbles and Corn Cheddar and Scallion Strata
11 years ago: Almond-Crisped Peaches, Key Lime Popsicles and Zucchini Parmesan Crisps
12 years ago: Mediterranean Baked Feta with Tomatoes, Leek, Chard, and Corn Flatbread and Vanilla Custards with Roasted Blueberries
13 years ago: Hazelnut Plum-Crumb Tart, Zucchini Fritters, and Naked Tomato Sauce
14 years ago: Eggplant Salad Toasts and Peach Shortbread
15 years ago: Grilled Eggplant and Olive Pizza and Peach Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Frosting
16 years ago: Slow-Roasted Tomatoes, Kefta and Zucchini Kebabs and Dimply Plum Cake
17 years ago: Double Chocolate Torte and Spicy Soba Noodles with Shiitakes
18 years ago: Moules Frites and 44-Clove Garlic Soup
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