Spice Roasted Chicken Thighs

By Mariealicerayner @MarieRynr
 Chicken is one of the proteins I eat the most of.  I am pretty sure I have chicken at least once or twice a week.  Sometimes it will be breasts and other times thighs. Thighs have the most flavor I think and never turn out dry.
They are cheaper than the breasts and I have quite a few really creative chicken thigh recipes.  I also have some really creative chicken breast recipes!!
  The thighs are really tender and succulent and never ever come out dry.  They do have a stronger flavor than breasts but do also lend themselves very well to a variety of tastes and flavors.
I really love, LOVE roast chicken.  Of all the ways to prepare chicken, roasting it is my absolute favorite thing do to with it.
 Now that there is just me however, its just not really practical to roast a whole chicken.  Also on week nights one doesn't really want to go to all the fuss and bother of roasting a whole chicken.
That's when it comes in really handy to have a few chicken recipes up your sleeve that allow you to roast chicken parts.  Roasting chicken pieces is always a lot quicker and can be every bit as delicious as roasting the whole chicken! 
 We have two fairly good grocery stores here in the town I am living in now. It is not city living, but I have to say we don't lack for anything.   We have all that we need right here.
This last week one of them had whole air-chilled chickens on offer. I took advantage of that offer and bought three chickens.  I had originally bought one, but then thought about it and went back and bought two more.
 Buying whole chickens and then cutting them into serving sized pieces is a great economy.  I am quite adept at cutting up whole chickens.  This was something I learned how to do in college and it is a skill that has stood me very well through the years.
Normally you can pay upwards of $14 for a package of chicken breasts alone.  For not much more than $24 I got 6 really good sized chicken breasts (large enough each to cut into two portions themselves), 6 chicken thighs, 6 chicken drumsticks,  12 chicken wing portions and a quite a bit of chicken backs, necks and wing tips to turn into stock.
 
Like I said, this was an excellent economy. Do you know at the shops they charge $11 for a package of split chicken wings alone.  I am way ahead of the game here.
Chicken parts cook quickly and taste just as good as whole roasted chickens in my humble opinion.
 I have given you quantities here to make two servings of this delicious succulent chicken, but in actual fact I cut the quantities down for myself to make just one serving, and quite successfully.
If you are wanting the amounts for that just e-mail me and I am happy to help you out.
 You don't have to use chicken thighs for this recipe. You can use breasts or legs if you wish, even leg quarters.  Do bear in mind however that the timings will vary a bit from one cut to another.
Bear in mind that white meat will cook a lot quicker than dark meat, and larger cuts, such as chicken leg quarters may take longer.  The important thing to remember is to cook them just until the juices run clear.
 Another handy tip for crisp skin and succulent chicken is to give them plenty of space on the roasting pan.  I also choose to use a small sized (half sheet pan) rimmed baking sheet.
This way plenty of air can circulate around the chicken and it roasts rather than stews, giving you a tender and succulent finish along with a nice crisp skin.
 You begin by making a flavor filled spice rub which gets rubbed into the skin-on/bone-in chicken pieces all over.  This is composed of really simple things that most people have in their kitchens.
Ground coriander seed, ground ginger, white sugar (just a bit), salt and black pepper. I always use fine sea salt. It may sound like a lot of pepper, but trust me it isn't.  This amount works perfectly in combination with everything else.
 Once you have done this you pop them onto the baking sheet along with some unpeeled cloves of garlic.  
To save time today, and add a side dish,  I also added a small sweet potato. I had washed it, snipped off the ends and quartered it. I then hassle backed the wedges by making small cuts down their width.
 
Rubbed with a tiny bit of butter and lightly seasoned, they roasted beautifully along side of the chicken pieces. They were roasted to perfection in the same amount of time as it took to roast the chicken.  Sweet potatoes and chicken are a lush combination.
 All I needed then was to cook another vegetable to have along side of the chicken and the potatoes.  Today it was green beans, but you can cook whatever you desire.  Or even make a side salad.
The garlic that roasts on the pan along with the chicken goes into making a really flavorful sauce that you spoon over the crisp skinned and roasted chicken.
 The roasted garlic gets squeezed from the skins and mashed into a paste.  This tasty paste then gets whisked together with some fresh lemon zest, lemon juice and a bit of extra virgin olive oil, as well as some seasoning.
I also added some chopped fresh coriander leaf.  (You may know this as cilantro.)  If you are not fond of cilantro, you can use fresh flat leaf Italian parsley in its place.

This tasty sauce gets spooned over top of the crisp chicken thighs for a beautiful finish.  
With the sweet potatoes and green beans this was a fairly healthy supper for one (or two) (or four) which was filled with beautiful flavors, colors and textures!  I really loved this and I think you will too!
  

Spicy Roasted Chicken Thighs

Yield: 2Author: Marie RaynerPrep time: 10 MinCook time: 35 MinTotal time: 45 MinA delicious small batch recipe that yields tender juicy flavor filled chicken. Chicken is rubbed with a zingy mixture of spices and seasonings before roasting to perfection. Served with a simple, yet lush cilantro, lemon and roasted garlic sauce.

Ingredients

For the chicken:
  • 4 bone in/skin on chicken thighs
  • 1 1/2 TBS ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 3/4 tsp granulated sugar
  • 1/2 TBS salt
  • 1 tsp coarse ground black pepper
  • 5 medium cloves of fresh garlic, unpeeled
For the sauce:
  • 1/2 TBS finely grated fresh lemon zest
  • 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 TBS coarsely chopped fresh coriander/cilantro leaf
  • fine sea salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 450*F/230*C/gas mark 7.  Have ready a small baking sheet with a rim.
  2. Mix together all of the spices and seasonings for the chicken. Rub the chicken with these spices all over.  Place them onto the baking sheet.  Put the unpeeled cloves of garlic in between the chicken thighs.
  3. Roast in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden brown and the juices run clear when pierced with a fork. 
  4. Squeeze the flesh out of the garlic cloves into a small bowl. Mash well along with some of the drippings and brown crispy bits from the chicken. Add the lemon zest and juice, along with the olive oil and coriander/cilantro leaf. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  5. Serve the chicken pieces hot, with some of the sauce spooned over top.
  6. Sweet potatoes and green beans go very well with this.
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