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Autumn Chicken - Chicken Thighs with Roasted Root Veggies
 Moderated by: Vargr, shadowcat-x, boojum
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 Posted: Sun Nov 11th, 2012 01:10 am
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Vargr
Vargr


Joined: Tue Jun 7th, 2005
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado USA
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Vargr really, REALLY loves the flavors of the veggies in this dish! A touch of sweetness, and a wonderful variation in flavor with each bite. Rich and savory!

This dish is made with cheap cuts of chicken (thigh pieces) and a nice selection of veggies highly available during the Autumn season. It has a lovely array of colors (orange, red, cream, white, gold, green, purple), a nice bit of crunch from the celery, and a lovely range of flavors from sweet (carrots and sweet potatoes), mild (red potatoes), tart (turnips) and meaty (chicken). The bit of Zesty Italian dressing that filters down to the veggies while the chicken is cooking melds the veggie flavors somewhat and adds a nice acidic highlight from the vinegar to cut some of the richness of the chicken fat.

Roasting the veggies before adding them to the casserole helps keep their individual flavors intact so each bite provides a lovely variation in flavors, depending on what veggies you had that time. And it is really essential to the final quality of the dish. Don't skip the roasting and add them directly to the casserole!

This mix of veggies really play well together, but they aren't the only possibility by far. Vargr recommends starting with these, then experimenting on the theme with future "repeats" of this meal.

Though the prep time is somewhat extensive, owing to the need to roast the veggies and then bake the final casserole, the actual time in the kitchen is considerably less for the cook, and the total “cook's time” for your involvement is considerably less than the total preparation time. Still, you need to allow yourself about 2.5 hours to get this on the table, start to finish. And figure on about 1/2 hour's work cutting and cooking things.


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Autumn Chicken
- Chicken Thighs with Roasted Root Veggies

Ingredients:
8 Chicken Thighs
4 Carrots
2 Parsnips
1 1/2 Large Turnips
1 Sweet Potato
5-6 Med/Small Red Potatoes
1 Med Yellow Onion
1 Med Purple Onion
1 Red Bell Pepper
1/2 Green Bell Pepper
3 Stalks Celery
1 box (8 oz) Sliced Button Mushrooms
1/2 bottle Zesty Italian Dressing

I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray
Smoked Paprika
Ground Savory
Dried Marjoram
Dried Oregano
Emeril's Original Essence
Salt & Pepper

Preparation:

Put the chicken thighs into a 1 Gal zip-lock bag. Pour in the half bottle of Italian dressing. Place in Microwave on “defrost” (low) for 10 minutes until warmed through but not cooked. Allow to marinate in the warmed dressing while the remaining prep continues.

Start oven preheating to 375-400 degrees. Move 2 oven racks up near the top of the oven.

Dice all the veggies except the onions and celery into approximately 1/2 inch segments. Slice the celery into 1/8 inch “crescents”. Cut off stem and roots of onions, then cut onions in half at “equator”. Slice “lengthwise” (top to bottom) in 1/4 in cuts. Cut slices in half.

Set the celery and mushrooms aside for now.

Spread Bell Peppers, Carrots, Onions, and Sweet Potatoes on one cookie sheet. Put remaining veggies EXCEPT the celery and mushrooms on another. Spread out all veggies so they're mostly 1 layer deep (not piled up).

Spray veggies down with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray until all are slightly coated. Sprinkle lightly with Salt, Pepper, Emeril's Essence, and Smoked Paprika.

Roast in oven for 40 minutes, rotating trays top to bottom half way through (If desired, shake the veggies around a bit at the time. It'll be easier to do on the non-onion tray – those get softer and stick and are harder to toss about, so perhaps you should concentrate on the other tray if you want to do this. This is why I separated the veggies into the groups listed.)

At 40 minutes, remove the tray and test veggies for doneness. Potatoes, carrots, etc., should be tooth-tender with a slightly crisper outer layer. Peppers and onions should be soft and onions translucent and sweet. If necessary, return to oven and roast another 10 minutes.

Put raw celery and raw mushrooms into a 4 qt (or larger) casserole dish. Add roasted veggies. Toss/stir to combine roasted and raw veggies.

Reduce oven temperature to 350. Move racks as needed to have space for casserole dish near top of oven.

Remove chicken thighs from marinating bag (retain marinade!). Place on top of veggies, skin side down, covering entire surface. Sprinkle liberally with seasonings listed until surface is nicely coated. Flip chicken skin-side up and season that side too.
Pour about 1/2-3/4 of the marinade liquid over the top of the chicken.

Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil (retain foil), and bake another 30 minutes or until interior temperature reaches 165 (careful not to touch thigh bone with thermometer).

Remove from oven and allow to rest, covered with retained foil, for about 10 minutes.
Dish out with slotted spoon (will have a lot of sauce and chicken schmaltz, which REALLY tastes good! But some folks prefer a bit less fat.) If desired, drizzle a bit of the juices over the chicken thighs.

Serves 4-5.

(Note – putting the celery in raw to bake with the chicken means it will still have just a little crunch when the dish is done, adding a very nice bit of texture to the dish!)

Note – if you can't find “I Can't Believe It's Not Butter” spray, you can also use a bit of nice virgin Olive Oil, or your favorite light oil. Just put a bit (a couple tablespoons) in a Large bowl, add the veggies, and toss until all are coated. Might have to do this in two sessions, depending on your dexterity and the size of the bowl. Then spread on the sheets as directed, season, and continue from there.

Options - for a little more expense, but a lot less schmaltz (chicken fat), use boneless skinless thighs, or even boneless skinless breasts for the chicken. Since boneless cuts cook quicker than bone-in, and the breast meat seems to cook quicker than thighs, adjust your baking time as follows: Bake covered for 30 minutes. Uncover, and cook another 15-20 minutes, then check with insta-read thermometer for internal temperature. Return to oven for 10 more minutes if necessary.



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