Roasted Chicken on Potatoes

Ben and Suzanne made some lovely chicken and potatoes for Passover Sunday; I had seconds on potatoes for the first time in years, and was inspired to make my own version. I'm using bone-in breasts, which are a great compromise for those white meat lovers; you can remove the skin after cooking, but the skin and bone add an enormous amount of flavor and prevent the meat from drying out-- a common danger for roasted chicken. If you make this with skinless boneless breasts, cook for less time; with thighs, cook a little longer (it's hard to dry out thighs though-- dark meat is much more forgiving).

The chicken was incredibly moist and full of spicy flavors. The potatoes didn't turn out as crispy as I would have liked, but they were very flavorful and had a nice bite. Next time I might skip the blanching step and just roast them, starting them 30 minutes before the chicken to give them time to start cooking and crisping up. I'll post updates if I try this again.

You'll need:

2 split chicken breasts, bone-in, skin on
1T each: cumin, cayenne, coriander, paprika, five spice powder, za'atar & cumin za'atar (or whatever you have on hand)
2-3 large yukon gold potatoes
1 onion, thinly sliced
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2c chicken broth
juice of 1 lemon
1t turmeric

Mix spices (except for turmeric) in a small bowl. Add some salt and adjust seasoning to taste. Remove excess skin & fat from breasts (there's always an extra flap of skin at the tip of the breast). Rub all over with spices and marinate for a few hours or overnight.

Clean potatoes (don't peel, just scrub & dig the eyes out) and slice in 1/4" slices. Cover with salted water; bring to a boil and simmer to cook potatoes briefly (about 5 minutes). Set aside to dry.

Preheat oven to 400.

Heat oil in a large skillet and brown chicken, skin side down, until well browned. Flip and brown the other side for a minute or two. Remove.

Add dried potato slices to oil and saute 5 minutes to absorb spices from the chicken. Push into a flat layer. Top with onion slices and garlic cloves. Stir turmeric into lemon juice & broth; pour over potatoes. Place browned chicken, skin side up, on top. (Can be prepared a few hours ahead up until this point.)


Bake until chicken is done (155 degrees), about 35 minutes. Serve with green beans or a salad.