roasted chicken thighs with root vegetables

I am highly susceptible to the Sunday Sads. I start out every weekend thinking that I have infinite time before going back to work to catch up on chores, hobbies, and sleep. I make pizza and drink beer the first night. Make something fancy for dinner and drink wine the second night. Sunday, though, turns into a mad rush to catch up chores from the previous week while preparing for the upcoming week. I still want something fantastic for dinner, but not something that’s going to keep me in the kitchen all day.

This one-dish meal is the perfect antidote to the Sunday Sads. The original recipe had a long staggered cooking method, in which the chicken roasted, then the vegetables, and then they’re combined to finish cooking. I don’t have that kind of patience on Sunday, so I cooked the whole thing in one dish at the same time. While it baked unattended, Dave and I shared a bottle of our favorite champagne – my other foolproof method of dissolving the Sunday Sads.

An easy meal is one thing, but what busy Sundays really need is something that tastes delicious. This mixture of browned potatoes, caramelized vegetables, and moist chicken that takes next to no time to put together eases the blow of facing another busy work week.

One year ago: Lamb Stew
Two years ago: German Apple Pancake

Printer Friendly Recipe
Roasted Chicken Thighs with Root Vegetables and Potatoes
(adapted from Bon Appétit)

Serves 4

The chicken thighs provide plenty of fat, probably too much, to coat the vegetables so they cook evenly. I think this would probably work with bone-in, skin-on breasts as well, or at least a mixture (with the breasts cut in half cross-wise so they cook in the same time as the thighs).

If you aren’t a fan of parsnips, replace them with more carrots or another root vegetable.

nonstick spray
1 pound medium carrots, peeled, cut into 2-inch-long, ½-inch-thick spears
1 pound parsnips, peeled, cut into 2-inch-long, ½-inch-thick spears
1½ pounds unpeeled medium Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed, cut into 2-inch-long, ½-inch-thick spears
1 onion, cut into 8 wedges
8 large chicken thighs with skin and bones
1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon freshly grated or ground nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Mix salt, thyme, 1½ teaspoons pepper, and nutmeg in small bowl. Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with nonstick spray. Place the carrots, parsnips, potatoes, and onion in the pan and spray with a light coating of nonstick spray. (The chicken will provide plenty of cooking fat, but you want to make sure every vegetable has at least a light coating.) Stir half of the salt mixture into the vegetables. Lay the chicken, skin-side up, over the vegetables. Rub the remaining salt mixture on the chicken and under its skin.

2. Bake until the chicken is golden and cooked through, 35-45 minutes. Serve.

Comments

  1. Renee says:

    Great description of the “Sunday Sads” – I know them all too well. Looks like a nice dinner, though, and I agree, wine always helps with the Sunday Blues.

  2. Oh Sundays are the worst. I always have high hopes that we’ll get our chores done on Saturday so we can just relax on Sunday but it never happens. This dish does look like a great Sunday meal.

  3. Sundays are great – until the realization that I will be going to work tomorrow sets in.

    We always have “family dinner” on Sunday night – kind of pulls me through. It’s usually just my H and I, but – our friends know that Sunday is an open house, and all are welcome to come and eat.

    This is a great dish that can be adapted easily for more or less people!

  4. Another one of the benefits of becoming a SAHM, no more Sunday Sads! This recipe looks great, so colorful. I love that you had champagne on a Sunday.

  5. I ate this tonight! i.e. the leftovers from an almost identical recipe (sans parsnips) in another magazine. But it’s so easy and flavorful. Love it.

  6. Amanda says:

    Made this tonight using a turkey breast half instead of chicken. It was phenomenal and a great change from our normal chicken dinners.

  7. This was so good as a weeknight dinner- I spiced it up a little, and it was a hit!

  8. Laura says:

    This has become our Sunday night ritual and it is simple yet so comforting and delicious. I just searched for a “chicken and root vegetable” dish and this came up within the first couple of search results and had the good fortune of discovering the treasure of recipes contained in your web site. The chicken dish was just what I was looking for, a nutritious special dish that doesn’t take me away from the family for the bulk of the afternoon. Last night, our guests loved it. Enjoying your blog very much! Thanks!

  9. karen says:

    Great recipe! I omitted potatoes and substituted pearl onions. Husband loved it. 🙂

  10. Kathy says:

    Excellent … Made this tonight and my guys loved it!

  11. Thank you for a great recipe. We had it for dinner tonight and loved it!