FRENעב

Rosemary roast chicken with golden potatoes in the pan juices and soft roasted garlic

meat Italian · regular · 85 min, including 35 hands-on

Golden-skinned chicken leg pieces, potato wedges cooked in the chicken juices, and half a head of unpeeled garlic, roasted until soft enough to mash on the plate.

Ingredients for two

650 gWhole skin-on chicken legs, thigh and drumstick 2 skin-on chicken legs, separated into thighs and drumsticks by the kosher butcher
500 gPotatoes 3–4 firm, yellow-fleshed potatoes, or floury potatoes, cut into 2.5 cm wedges
40 gExtra virgin olive oil 4 tbsp: 30 g for the potatoes, 10 g for the chicken
40 gGarlic 8 cloves, about half a head, lightly crushed and left in their skins
10 gFresh rosemary 2 sprigs, 5 g each
60 gLemon ½ lemon: very finely grated zest, then the juice, about 20 g
50 gKosher dry white wine 5 tbsp for the pan juices; use boiling water if unavailable (optional)
80 gWater 50 g boiling water for the pan juices if not using wine; 2 tbsp reserved in case the base of the dish begins to blacken
8 gFine salt 4 g for the chicken, 4 g for the potatoes
1 gGround black pepper ½ level tsp, divided between the chicken and potatoes

Method

  1. Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes beforehand, or season it in the morning as described in the tips. Preheat the oven to 200°C fan. Peel the potatoes and cut into 2.5 cm wedges. Lightly crush the 8 unpeeled garlic cloves with the flat of a knife blade, leaving their skins on.
  2. In the large metal roasting dish, use your hands to toss the potato wedges with 30 g oil, 4 g salt, half the pepper, 4 garlic cloves and one whole rosemary sprig. Every wedge should glisten on all sides and the base of the dish should be oiled. Spread in a single layer, one cut side down, and roast on the middle shelf on their own for 15 minutes: the undersides should begin to turn golden.
  3. Meanwhile, pat the chicken pieces dry with kitchen paper. Mix 10 g oil with 4 g salt, the remaining pepper, the zest of the half lemon grated very finely with a microplane rather than in strands, and the finely chopped needles from the second rosemary sprig. Rub over the chicken, including beneath the folds of skin, without wetting the skin with lemon juice.
  4. Take out the dish, push the potatoes towards the edges and place the chicken in the centre, skin side up, without overlapping the pieces. Tuck the remaining 4 garlic cloves beneath the chicken; leave the first cloves between the potatoes to brown. Return to the oven for 45–50 minutes. After 25 minutes, turn the potatoes and baste them with two spoonfuls of pan juices; leave the chicken skin exposed to the heat. If the skin is already mahogany-coloured after 35 minutes, loosely cover only the chicken with foil, leaving the potatoes uncovered.
  5. Start checking after 40 minutes: the meat should shrink back from the drumstick bone and come away with a fork, and clear juices with no trace of pink should run out when the thigh joint is pierced. A probe should read 80–85°C at the centre of the thigh, the piece that takes longest to cook, without touching the bone. The potatoes should be golden and tender to a knife, and the garlic around the edges golden. Cook for another 5 minutes if needed; if the juices on the base begin to blacken, pour 2 tbsp hot water into a corner of the dish, never over the skin.
  6. Take out the dish. Rest the chicken for 7 minutes on a serving platter warmed under hot water and dried, leaving the skin uncovered. Transfer the potatoes and garlic to a second warm dish and keep in the switched-off oven with the door ajar. Remove the rosemary stalk, tilt the roasting dish and spoon off the excess fat, keeping the browned juices. Put the dish over a medium heat, add the white wine or 50 g boiling water and the juice of the half lemon, then scrape with a spatula for 1 minute until you have 4–5 tbsp glossy brown juices. Serve one thigh and one drumstick per person, the potatoes and garlic to mash on the plate, and the juices around the meat.

Lighter version

  • Potatoes : 400 g
  • Extra virgin olive oil : 25 g

At step 2, use 20 g oil for the potatoes; at step 3, use 5 g for the chicken, as the skin releases its own fat. At step 6, thoroughly spoon the fat off the juices before deglazing.

The same dish with less oil and fewer potatoes; anyone who wishes can remove the skin at the table.

On your plate

Recipe

1048 kcal · protein 63 g · carbs 46 g · fat 65 g

Quantities per person
  • 325 g Whole skin-on chicken legs, thigh and drumstick
  • 250 g Potatoes
  • 20 g Extra virgin olive oil
  • 20 g Garlic
  • 5 g Fresh rosemary
  • 30 g Lemon
  • 25 g Kosher dry white wine
  • 40 g Water
  • 4 g Fine salt
  • 0.5 g Ground black pepper

Cooking tips

Choose a wide enough dish: if crowded, the potatoes will steam. Ask the butcher to do all the cutting. The chicken can be seasoned the day before and kept in the fridge; the time here runs from preparation to the final rest. For a more pronounced crust on the potatoes, once the chicken is out, turn the oven up to 230°C and leave them in the dish for another 5 minutes before transferring them and making the pan sauce. Reheat leftover chicken pieces and potatoes for 20 minutes at 180°C, until piping hot.

Equipment : large 35 × 25 cm metal roasting dish suitable for use on the hob, fine grater (microplane), kettle, serving platter, cooking thermometer (optional)

Italian family cooking: pollo al forno con patate, garlic and rosemary.