Niamh Shields burst onto the blogging scene in 2007 and has since snapped up countless accolades for her food writing by The Times, The Telegraph and The Stylist, to name a few. Niamh is passionate about cooking, and when she's not travelling the world collecting culinary tips, she's at home concocting new and interesting meals for friends and family, including her foody fledgling niece. Here, Niamh shares all her know-how for delicious and easy home-cooking.
Crispy garlic chicken thighs with diced roast potatoes and crispy sage
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Everyone loves a surprise, and this chicken dish has one. Tucked under the skin is a hidden secret, some crushed garlic paste, which coats the chicken flesh and flavours it beautifully, underneath a crisp chicken skin.
I’ve used chicken thighs here. I find them full of flavour and much better value for money than breasts. They cook better too, and on the bone retain their moisture. Legs would work well too if you prefer them.
Cooked on top of diced potatoes, the potatoes on the edge go nice and crispy. The potatoes underneath the chicken absorb all those fantastic chicken juices and are a delight. They serve two purposes: they keep the bottom of the chicken thigh lovely and succulent, and are utterly delicious after they have done all their work (that is purpose 2!).
Now we do need some green here, and a contrasting texture. I love sage leaves fried until just crisp, they are gorgeous with the chicken too. If you don’t have or like sage, some rosemary or parsley would be great, or a bed of wilted spinach to boost the health factor too.
Use fresh garlic here, and if you can get it, smoked garlic is wonderful. The Isle of Wight Garlic Farm produces a terrific one, some supermarkets stick some too. But don’t worry, normal garlic is perfect here too.
This is so simple, the garlic is simply crushed with some coarse sea salt. This makes it easier, as the coarse salt helps grind it down. Then a tablespoon of olive oil is mixed in to make it a paste, which makes it easier to spread underneath the skin.
Chicken skin lifts very easily, you just want to pull it so that you can spread the garlic paste underneath. Just make sure that one side is still attached, then press it back down, and no one will know any better.
Embrace Autumn, and enjoy your dinner.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
8 chicken thighs
1kg potatoes, skin left on, washed and cut into 1cm dice
8 cloves garlic (a lot but only 1 clove per chicken thigh)
Sea salt
Bunch of sage leaves and a little butter to fry them
Extra virgin olive oil
Method
Preheat your oven to 180 deg C.- Toss the potatoes in some extra virgin olive oil (to coat) and season with some sea salt.
- Spread in a roasting tray that will accommodate them in a single layer with the chicken on top. Roast them for about 15 minutes.
- While the potatoes are roasting, prepare the chicken by roughly chopping the garlic cloves and then crushing them in a pestle and mortar with a generous pinch of salt. If you don’t have a pestle and mortar, use the end of a rolling pin and a sturdy cup, or blitz them briefly in a blender. Add a tablespoon of your olive oil and stir to create a paste.
- Gentle pull up the skin of each thigh and put a teaspoon of the garlic mixture underneath. Rub in with your fingers, then press the skin back down. Rub a little of the oil over the skin.
- Place on top of the potatoes and roast for 35 – 40 minutes until the skin is crisp.
- When the chicken is almost done, fry the sage in the butter until crispy.
- Serve the chicken on top of the potatoes with the sage leaves on top.
Enjoy!
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