Greek Lemon Chicken and Potatoes with Tzatziki Sauce

Greek lemon Chicken and Potatoes with Tzatziki sauce

Friends returned from a trip to Greece with a gift of tzatziki sauce spices, and I wanted a delicious main dish to go with it, something more exciting than pita bread sandwiches.(For one thing, I wasnt up to making fresh pita bread--it sounds as hard as croissants). I hada recipe from my 1990s "Too Busy To Cook" book from Bon Appetit, and :I found this updated version that I liked a lot. Four pounds of chicken left lots for another meal, even though the recipe says "serves 4|" and I had six.

The quality of the chicken makes a difference--I got organic thighs from Whole Foods. The recipe was also substantially enhanced by the sauce, which I'd never served before. It took the dish from solid and presentable to something special.

I've made this with skinless, boneless chicken breasts, which taste okay--they are ready about 10 minutes faster--but are a pale shadow of the original dish. I've used fingerling (barely passing flavor) and unpeeled yukon gold potatoes (better but not as good as russets).

Ingredients:

4 pounds chicken thighs, bone in and skin on

1 tbsp kosher salt

1 tbsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 pinch cayenne pepper

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup olive oil

6 cloves garlic, minced (I use TJ's frozen or minced in jar, also|)

3 russet potatoes, peeled and quartered

2/3 cup chicken broth plus a bit more to deglaze pan

fresh oregano for garnish

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place chicken pieces in large bowl and sprinkle salt, oregano, peper, rosemary and cayenne. Mix it around. Whisk or shake oil, lemon juice and garlic to blend it. Pour it over the chicken and mix again. Add potatoes and mix until everythingn is evenly coaated.

Put chicken pieces, skin side up, in pan, reserving the marinade. Distribute potato pieces among chicken pieces. Drizzle with 2/3 cup chicken broth. Spoon remainder of marinade over everything.

Place in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Stir, keeping skin side up. Bake another 25 minutes until chicken is browned and cooked through. An instant-read thermometer should read 165 near the bone.

Move chicken to platter and keep warm. set oven to broil on high. Toss potatoes in pan juices and place under broiler until potatoes caramelize, about 3 minutes.

Place roasting pan on stove over medium heat. Add a splash of broth and stir up browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Strain; spoon juices over chicken and potatoes. Top with chopped oregano.