Description
This crispy chicken with blistered courgettes and herby green sauce combines crispy, golden-brown chicken thighs with perfectly blistered courgettes and a vibrant green sauce made from fresh herbs and greens. The perfectly balanced textures and flavours make this dish ideal for casual family dinners.
Ingredients
Units
- 4 skin-on, boneless chicken thighs*
- 4 large/600g courgettes
- 20g fine herbs: basil, mint, parsley, or dill (I used parsley and dill)
- 100g greens cavalo nero, kale, chard, or baby spinach
- 1 large/2 small cloves garlic
- 1 lemon
- 1 green chilli
- Olive oil as needed
- 3 cups cooked grain of choice (giant couscous, barley, spelt, quinoa, or rice)
- 4 tbsp thick Greek yoghurt
*if you can’t get boneless thighs, use a pair of kitchen scissors to remove the bones.
Equipment
Instructions
- Generously salt the chicken thighs and lightly coat them in a little oil.
- Place a stainless steel or cast iron frying pan onto the stovetop. Place the thighs skin-side down in the cold pan, then turn the heat to medium-low. Place a weight (like a cast iron weight or another pan) on top of the chicken, pressing it down to ensure the skin has full contact with the pan and gets the maximum crispy area. Cook for about 10-12 minutes until the skin is crispy and a deep golden brown. Drain off any excess chicken fat with a spoon if necessary, and reserve for later.
- Prep the veg and other ingredients.
Note: If you are not using a bag of precooked grains, now is the time to get them on the stove to cook. - Cut the courgettes at an angle to create varied shapes with flat surfaces. Rotate the courgette slightly after each cut to get interesting shapes.
- Wash your green of choice. If using greens with thick stems (like cavolo nero, kale, or chard), strip the leaves from the stems. Finely slice the stems and thinly slice the leaves.
- Finely slice the garlic and finely dice the green chilli, removing the seeds and membranes.
- Check the chicken. If the skin looks nice, golden and crisp, flip it and finish the cooking on the other side for another 2 minutes. Remove the chicken and set aside to keep warm.
- Using the same pan turn up the heat and add the courgettes in a single layer. Cook without stirring until one side is a deep golden brown. Season with salt and pepper, then remove from the pan and set aside.
- Deglaze the pan with a little water (about 30ml), scraping up the browned bits from the surface. Toss this chickeny liquid through your cooked grains.
- Wipe down the pan, add a bit of olive oil (or some reserved chicken fat), and sauté the sliced greens stems and garlic until soft. Add the greens leaves and chilli, cooking until wilted.
- Transfer the sautéed greens mixture to a food processor along with the herbs. Grate in the zest from your lemon. Add a little olive oil and blend until chunky and thick, adjusting the consistency with more olive oil as needed. The sauce should be thick, similar to a pesto, but more dense.
Alternative method: If you don’t have a food processor, finely chop the sautéed greens and herbs on a cutting board until they reach a paste-like consistency. Then mix in the olive oil to achieve the desired thickness. - Season the green sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
- Mix 2-3 tablespoons of your green sauce through the cooked grains, seasoning to taste with salt, pepper, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Stir in the blistered courgettes.
- Plate the grains and courgettes, top with the crispy chicken, add a spoonful of Greek yoghurt, and finish with a dollop of the remaining green sauce. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Category: Mains
