Chicken in the Oven with Potatoes
A FAST, FRESH ALTERNATIVE FOR ROAST CHICKEN
Chicken in the Oven With Potatoes | Dara O’Brien
By Dara O’Brien
Creative Director, Lake Isle Press
Sometimes you can get boxed in by life. You want to make a change but you have too few options—or way too many—and often none of them are good. You consider each choice and its chain of consequences and complications. You want to throw in the towel. What you’ve got isn’t so bad when you consider the alternatives.
Not so with cooking. Alternatives are part of the process; what would we do without them? When we don’t have (or don’t enjoy) a particular ingredient we find an alternative. In the past few weeks I’ve made a mustard tarragon sauce with sour cream when I was out of heavy cream, whipped up a pesto with parsley rather than basil, and subbed thyme for summer savory in a chicken fricassee. Indeed, what is cooking new recipes if not exploring alternatives?
I was thinking about all this last night when I was following Mayada Anjari’s recipe for Chicken in the Oven with Potatoes from her book (with Jennifer Sit) “The Bread and Salt Between Us.” The chicken sits in a marinade of vinegar, tomato paste, garlic, cumin, and cayenne for just half an hour to an hour, so you don’t need a lot of advance planning. It’s easy, uncomplicated, and flavorful. And it’s a spin on roast chicken that I’ve never tried.
As I layered the potatoes into my cast iron pan I thought about the way I used to “cook,” which could more appropriately be referred to as “heating.” I would put a chicken breast or a pork chop in a pan with some oil and turn on the burner. If I added any spice, it would be salt or pepper. I served pasta with jarred sauce, and if I used a packaged rice mix that meant I was getting fancy. My experience with legumes amounted to boiling frozen peas.
My thoughts then turned to some big issues in my life, which have led me to a crossroads. I don’t know what path to take or how to pursue it, and right now I’m making little progress. It helped to remember there was a time that I thought of zest as energy, sweating as what you do in the summer, and cooking as plopping some meat into a pan and adding heat. Change can come. Nevertheless it sure would be nice if exploring alternatives beyond the kitchen could be as easy as finding a new way to cook chicken.
Speaking of alternatives, a note about Mayada: Ten years ago she and her husband, Ahmad, and their four kids uprooted themselves from their war-torn home in Syria and walked across the desert to Jordan, where they were picked up by the Jordanian military and settled in a refugee camp. They registered with the United Nations and in time miraculously found themselves on a list to be considered for resettlement in the United States. Two years and many rounds of interviews and medical tests later, they boarded a plane for the first time, bound for America. Last month, Mayada and Ahmad took their oaths and became citizens of the United States.
When she came to her crossroads, Mayada stared down the alternatives to navigate a desert and an ocean and start a new life.
Chicken in the Oven with Potatoes
Serves 4-6
INGREDIENTS
3 ½ pounds medium or large russet potatoes
3 pounds bone-in chicken pieces or 1 whole chicken, cut into pieces (skin removed, optional)
¼ cup white vinegar
Olive oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 ½ tablespoons ground cumin
8 cloves garlic, smashed into a paste with 1 teaspoon salt
PREPARATION
Peel the potatoes and slice crosswise into ¼-inch-thick rounds. Place in a colander and rinse under cold water. Drain well.
Use a small sharp knife to poke several incisions in each chicken piece. Place the chicken in a large bowl and add the vinegar, ¼ cup olive oil, the tomato paste, 1 teaspoon of the salt, ¼ teaspoon of the cayenne, 1 ½ tablespoons of the cumin, and half of the garlic paste. Use your hands to thoroughly coat the chicken.
In a large rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan, combine the potatoes, the remaining ¼ teaspoon cayenne, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons cumin, remaining garlic paste, and 2 teaspoons salt. Toss to thoroughly coat the potatoes. Spread to evenly cover the pan.
Place the chicken pieces on top of the potatoes and pour any marinade remaining in the bowl over the chicken and potatoes. Marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
While the chicken is marinating, preheat the oven to 425°F.
Roast the chicken for about 30 minutes, then check. If the potatoes look dry, lightly drizzle with a little olive oil. Roast for 30 minutes more (about 1 hour total), until the chicken is cooked through. The juices should run clear when you insert a knife, and the potatoes should be crispy and browned. Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes. Drizzle with additional olive oil before serving.
CHICKEN IN THE OVEN WITH POTATOES
from “The Bread and Salt Between Us”
by Mayada Anjari with Jennifer Sit, Lake Isle Press, 2018
“A quietly powerful reflection on how food can bring families together.”
–Marcus Samuelsson, Head Chef Red Rooster, Harlem
Organized by everyday fare, celebrations, and sweets, The Bread and Salt Between Us offers over forty recipes that recall the flavor and comforts of Mayada's home in Syria. From the fresh tabbouleh she learned to prepare alongside her mother and sisters to Baklava or the rice pudding that won over her future husband, these easy-to-approach dishes, like Chicken Kabsa, Green Fassoulia or White Fassoulia, or Rice Pilaf with Vermicelli tell the story of a family whose culinary traditions have sustained them as they build a new life in the United States.
ALSO FROM THE BREAD AND SALT BETWEEN US:
Baklava
Chicken Kabsa
Ma'amoul (Date-filled Cookies)
Rice Pilaf with Vermicelli
Stewed White Beans with Beef (White Fassoulia)
Stewed Green Beans, Tomatoes, and Garlic
FIND OUT MORE
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