Herby Roast Chicken Thighs with Smashed Potatoes

This is one of my go-to dinners because it is so flavorful and comes together pretty quickly. The flavors are amazing - lemony, herby, schmaltzy, and everything ends up melting all together. The garlic caramelizes slowly in its shells, the onions melt down, the tomatoes burst and the potatoes just soak everything up. Great served with a simple side salad or with crusty bread (like everything else in life).Couple of notes:

• If you don't have chicken thighs, you can use any other piece of chicken as long as it is bone-in skin-on
• If you want to do a whole roast chicken, I've included instructions for that too!
• Any woody herbs will work (thyme, rosemary, oregano, etc,.) but it's best if they're fresh

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Herby Roast Chicken Thighs with Smashed Potatoes

Serves 2Ingredients

• 2-3 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (for full roast chicken instructions, see below)
• Salt
• ½ lb small yukon gold potatoes 
• Olive oil
• 2 lemons
• 1 tbsp chopped herbs (rosemary, thyme or oregano, or a combination)
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp granulated garlic
• ½ pint cherry tomatoes
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 1 head garlic, cloves separated (no need to peel - they will pop out of the shells easily when cooked)

Method: 

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Place your potatoes in a small pot of salted water. Bring to a boil and cook until you can easily pierce the potatoes with a knife, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain. Once cool, smash down the potatoes until only about a ½ inch thick.
3. Sprinkle each piece of chicken all over with a big pinch of salt and set aside for ideally an hour before, but at least 15 minutes. 
4. In a small bowl, combine zest from two lemons, chopped herbs, pepper, granulated garlic, and ¼ tsp salt. Mix and set aside.
5. In a large oven proof skillet, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium high heat. Add chicken thighs to pan, skin side down. Cook until the skin is lightly browned, crispy and the fat has rendered, about 5-7 minutes. 
6. Turn off the heat and sprinkle a little bit of the herb lemon zest mixture on the non-skin side of each piece of chicken. Flip each piece of chicken over (now they are all skin-side up) and sprinkle a little more of the herb zest mixture on the skin. Add enough olive oil to coat the pan with a light layer (you’ll need at least a couple tablespoons for this) and arrange chopped onion, garlic cloves, cherry tomatoes and smashed potatoes around the chicken. Sprinkle the remaining lemon zest mixture on top of all the vegetables and finish with a couple more tablespoons of olive oil drizzled over everything. 
7. Place the skillet in the oven and cook for 40-45 minutes until the chicken has cooked through, the onions have melted down and the tomatoes have burst. Squeeze some lemon juice from the zested lemons on top and serve.

 Method for full roast chicken (follow instructions above for potatoes + other veggies)

1. Salt your chicken all over (usually ends up being about 2 tsp of kosher salt) at least 1 day in advance, but up to 3 (this is the only way to really get a tender, juicy bird). Let rest in the fridge until ready to cook.
2. Preheat oven to 425 and coat the chicken in most of the lemon zest mixture, reserving 1 tbsp. Slice one of the lemons in half, and place inside the cavity of the chicken.
3. Place a large, ovenproof skillet over high heat and add enough olive oil to coat the pan with about ¼ inch of olive oil (You’ll need at least ¼ cup olive oil for this, if not more). Place chicken, breast side up in pan, and carefully arrange onions, garlic and potatoes around the chicken. Sprinkle with the remaining herb mixture and drizzle with a little more olive oil.
4. Place the skillet in the oven and cook for 30 minutes. Remove chicken to baste, and add the cherry tomatoes. Return to oven and cook, basting basting every 20-25 minutes, until the chicken is browned and the juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a knife, about 1 more hour.
5. Drizzle with lemon juice from reserved lemon and let chicken rest for at least 10 minutes before serving