Chicken with Potatoes and Tomatoes

by Jessica

I used to watch Jamie Oliver when he was The Naked Chef on the Food Network, but only watched his new show, Jamie at Home, once. In that episode he made game pigeon, which did not really look appetizing to me. I never tried any of his recipes, but admired his use of homegrown (or local/seasonal) ingredients. When I read this article last week, I knew I had to take a look at his new cookbook, Jamie at Home. While browsing through it at the book store, I saw a lot of unkosher recipes, and some graphic pictures of dead hanging rabbits and other animals. I did find a few recipes that looked delicious and very easy, and decided to give a chicken recipe a shot at home.

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I actually got the recipe from the food network site (it’s the same as the one in the book), and changed it a bit (or a lot) to make it a little easier. Maybe I’ll try the original one next time…

This is my first time using fresh oregano – it is a strong herb, but has a good flavor. And it made the house smell great!

Ingredients:

  • 6 chicken thighs, skin on
  • 1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved
  • 5 white potatoes
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • About 6 sprigs of fresh oregano
  • 6-10 whole garlic cloves, peeled
  • Olive oil
  • Red wine vinegar

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Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Put the potatoes in a pot of boiling salted water and boil until soft.
  3. While the potatoes are boiling, heat a skillet (I used my dutch oven) on high heat. Coat the chicken with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Brown the chicken on both sides (it took me 2 batches). Remove to a plate or bowl with a slotted spoon.

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  4. Cut the tomatoes in half.
  5. Drain the potatoes and cut them into 1-inch cubes.

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  6. Bash up most of the oregano leaves with a pinch of salt in a mortar and pestle (or with a spoon in a small bowl if you don’t have one. Add 4 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar and some pepper and give everything another bash.
  7. Add the chicken, tomatoes, potatoes, oregano mixture, and the rest of the oregano leaves back to the dutch oven.  Toss together carefully.
  8. Bake for 40 minutes.

This was amazing and very easy. The potatoes were soft and flavorful from the tomatoes and chicken. The chicken was tender and juicy. The garlic cloves were soft and sweet, and although not part of Jamie’s original recipe, definitely my favorite part of the dish. Next time I’ll serve this with some rice to spoon the sauce over.