Anchovy-Lemon Crispy Chicken Thighs with Roasted Potatoes + Spinach
Thank you for joining me here today—I’m back again with another episode of crispy chicken thighs.
If you have no idea what I’m talking about, I’ll catch you up: I like to use this exact same method to make all the chicken dinners at my house. I change up the seasonings and the vegetables I put underneath the crispy chicken thighs, but the basic cooking method is absolutely easy and perfect… so I choose not to mess with ease and perfection.
The anchovy rub on this version is inspired by the food writer legend that is Alison Roman, who has made it her personal mission to hide anchovies in every recipe of her newest book Nothing Fancy (her first book, Dining In, is also amazing, by the way—also includes generous anchovy use).
My first experiment with anchovies was one of Alison’s recipes—not from either of the books, but from several years ago in a Bon Appetit video. It’s a garlicky, herby, anchovy-walnut green bean dish that I’ve actually brought for Christmas Eve dinner twice. This year it was totally devoured by 50+ family members.
Other than Caesar salad or pizza, I’d never really considered anchovies in other applications before these green beans and for that I was a damned fool.
The umami of anchovies is unmatched and sneaky. It makes this chicken taste so damned good but in a sort of indescribable way, melting into the dish and boosting the flavor of everything without stealing the show. It’s not fishy. It’s not overly salty.
It just works.
Anchovy-Lemon Crispy Chicken Thighs with Roasted Potatoes + Spinach
paleo, whole30, gluten-free recipe | serves 2-4
Ingredients
one lemon, zest and juice
~2.5 lbs chicken thighs, bone-in and skin-on (about 5 thighs)
3-5 anchovies, minced
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 T+ olive oil
kosher salt and pepper, to taste
2 medium red onions, cut into wedges
2-4 large potatoes, cubed
a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper
one 6 oz bag fresh spinach, torn up into pieces
2 T capers
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Zest the lemon and set that aside for later.
In a bowl, combine the garlic, anchovies, most of the parsley, juice from the lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper. (My trick to getting the salt and pepper amounts right is to pretend I’m salting and peppering each piece of chicken as I add it into the bowl.)
In two 13x9 baking dishes, toss the red onion and potatoes with a little olive oil, salt and pepper (you don't need much oil because the chicken fat will do a lot of the heavy lifting) and arrange them in a single layer.
Smother the chicken with the herb-garlic-anchovy mixture. Gently pull up the skin to get it underneath each piece. That’s the ticket! Place the chicken on top of the veggies.
Put both pans on the center rack if you can and roast for 45-55 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through (165 F). If you can’t fit them on the same rack, just switch them mid-way through.
If it needs it, put the pan under the broiler for about 3-5 minutes toward the end to crisp up the chicken skin even more. (Every oven is different, so watch it very carefully!)
Right out of the oven while the pan is still hot, fold the fresh spinach in with the veggies. Hide bunches under each piece of chicken to help it wilt nicely. This also gives the chicken a chance to rest for about 5-8 minutes before your serve.
Top with a mess of lemon zest, capers and extra parsley.
EAT.
Notes
I love the idea of fennel and/or radishes in this recipe. I also like the idea of broccoli, broccolini or broccoli rabe in here but I might roast it on a different pan so it gets crispier and then toss it in at the end. The world is your casserole dish—choose any hearty veggies you like to go underneath this chicken and anything else you can fit in the oven.
If you like this, you will definitely like these others (or create a riff all your own!):