Old Favourites

It was my turn last week to set the Violet's pantry challenge and it was quite a job to know what to choose so I went with my trusted old favourites, the ones that I make again and again. One of them was this chicken recipe, that I ripped out of the Listener a few years ago. It is by Lois Daish, who used to be the food columnist for the Listener. I used to look forward to her column every week and I really enjoy her style of cooking. This recipe has taken quite a bit of fiddling with to get right, I found the original recipe produced too much liquid and have since taken to pouring the liquid off about 3/4 of the way through cooking to get the potatoes and chicken crispier. The dish is finished with gremolata- parsley, garlic and lemon zest- it is this little flourish that makes this dish really delicious. This is a homely favourite that my kids really enjoy, and is the kind of meal that is able to be contracted or expanded depending on how many are eating, as it is a very quick and easy dish to prepare and cook. I served this with steamed broccoli and carrots.

Baked Chicken and Potatoes with Cider and Parsley

12 chicken thighs (I use thighs with the bone in but you can also use boneless thighs, and or drumsticks)

4-5 rashers bacon, cut into pieces

8 medium all-purpose potatoes, such as Red Desiree

1 red pepper, cut into small chunks (optional)

salt and pepper

1 cup apple cider or apple juice (I often use ½ white wine and ½ apple juice)

1 tbsp butter

large handful parsley

grated zest of 1 large lemon

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Preheat the oven to 190˚C. Peel the potatoes, slice into 5mm thick slices and scatter over bottom of large roasting dish. Place the chicken pieces with the bacon and red pepper (if using) on top of the potatoes. Season. Put the cider or apple juice in a small saucepan with the water, oil and butter and heat until the butter melts. Pour over the chicken and potatoes. Bake in the oven for about 50 minutes until the chicken and potatoes are tender and golden brown. Take out of oven and pour juices off into a pan and reduce on the stovetop for a 'gravy' to serve with the chicken. Increase oven temp to 210C and return chicken to oven until skin is crispy and the potatoes are browned and sticky. When the chicken is nearly ready, place the parsley, zest and garlic on a chopping board and chop together. As soon as the chicken is out of the oven, sprinkle on the parsley mixture, followed by spoonfuls of cooking juices to moisten the parsley. Serve immediately. Serves 6.