I got the inspiration for this dish from a recipe for chicken and olives in an old Italian cook book and I have to say I surprised even my self with how well it turned out.
The chicken was wonderfully succulent and the potatoes were really tasty but what surprised me most was the way the juices from the chicken combined with the oil and lemon juice to make a really flavoursome gravy with out being greasy.
It’s perfect if you’ve got a few hungry mouths to feed and want a cheap alternative to a Sunday roast.
Most boned chicken thighs that you buy from the supermarket are skinless so you may have to bone them your self, it’s dead easy- just take hold of the bone at one end and scrape away the chicken with a sharp knife cutting under the bone at the bottom, sometimes you have a little piece of cartilage left but just slice it off with the knife.
LEMON ROAST CHICKEN THIGHS AND POTATOES
Serves 6
INGREDIENTS:
500 g pork and apple sausages, skins removed
2 tablespoons redcurrant sauce
12 skin-on chicken thighs, boned
2 large onions, thinly sliced
6 large garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
few sprigs thyme
1 large lemon
75 ml extra virgin olive oil
1 kg waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into 4 cm chunks
salt and black pepper
METHOD:
Mix the sausage meat and redcurrant sauce together in a bowl and divide into 12 portions.
Lay a chicken thigh on a board skin side down, roll a portion of sausage meat into a small sausage shape and place on the fleshy end of the thigh. Roll the thigh up to enclose the sausage meat and set aside while you stuff the remaining thighs in the same way.
Place the onions in the bottom of a roasting tin large enough to take the chicken thighs and potatoes in one layer.
Scatter with the garlic slices and the thyme sprigs and place the chicken thighs, seam side down, on top.
Peel the rind from the lemon with a sharp knife and cut into julienne strips. Squeeze the lemon juice over the chicken and scatter with the lemon rind. Cover the dish and set aside for 30 minutes for the flavours to infuse.
Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas 4.
When the chicken is ready to go into the oven drop the potatoes into lightly salted boiling water and simmer for four minutes. Drain well then tuck around the chicken thighs in the roasting tin.
Season the dish with salt and pepper and drizzle with the olive oil.
Roast the chicken in the centre of the oven for 40 – 50 minutes, turning the potatoes occasionally, until the chicken and potatoes are cooked and golden brown and the juices have turned into a thick gravy.
Discard the thyme sprigs and serve immediately.
