Baked Italian Chicken

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With a crispy skin and juicy chicken thighs flavoured with Italian herbs, this easy recipe is an all round winner. Minimal ingredients, minimal effort but maximum results!

Servings:

Author: Helen Best-Shaw

Prep Time5

Cook Time50

Resting time5

Ingredients

4 chicken thighs - large
1 pinch sea salt
black pepper
1 tbsp Italian seasoning

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to hot: 240°C fan / Gas 9 / 475°F.
Allow the chicken to come up to room temperature. Pat the skin with a paper towel to dry it.
4 chicken thighs
Mix a little sea salt and black pepper with the herb mix.
Loosen the skin on top of the thigh by sweeping a finger underneath, taking care not to tear the skin. Push the seasoning into the gap under the skin, spread it out and pull the skin back into place.
1 pinch sea salt, black pepper, 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
Roll any loose bits of skin and meat up under the thigh.
Arrange the thighs on a wire rack standing in a roasting tin, spreading them out so that they do not touch.
Put the chicken in the oven and cook for about 20 minutes until golden.
Turn the oven down to 180°C fan / Gas 6 / 400°F and cook for a further 30 minutes, until cooked through.
When the skin is a rich golden colour with the juices running clear and the meat coming away from the bone, remove from the oven and rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

Storage

Keep in the fridge in an airtight container for 3 days.

To reheat, put a glug of oil to a frying pan and add the chicken pieces skin side up. Fry gently over a low heat. You can speed the process up by putting a lid on to hold the heat. Once the chicken thighs are warmed through, flip them over, adding a little more fat if needed, and turn the heat up to recrisp the skin.

Serve immediately.

Hints and tips

Drying the skin before cooking makes a real difference, so do not skip this stage and mop up as much of the moisture as you can.

Give the thighs space when cooking. You want them to roast rather than steam.

Pour off the rendered fat and juices and freeze. Use these to make chicken stock.

• Please note that the nutrition information provided below is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

• Unless stated otherwise cup conversions have been made with an online tool. For accuracy please check with your favoured conversion tool. We recommend buying inexpensive digital kitchen scales.