Roasted Chicken Thighs with Garlic Aioli and Herbs

 
Life continues at a rapid pace sucking the time out of every day.  Sure, things are being cooked, cars are being restored (just not the one mentioned here), we drive up to open the house in Maine for my Mom this Saturday - turn on the water, reconnect the dishwasher, the ice maker, the washing machine, etc, gardens are being planted, flower pots are being filled, water features are cleaned out and restocked with a GIANT bullfrog tadpole named Hermione (pictures if I can get her(?) to sit still long enough) and recipes are beginning to be culled for Summer camp. 

Ah Summer. That will be 11 weeks of 5 - 8 recipes a day for just the 11+ age group.  Given all of that activity there are not a lot of words forming in my head and not many pictures are being taken to keep things up here.  I am sure that my new car and a season ahead of winding roads and far flung farmer's markets, road side stands and foodie field trips will remedy that.  In the meantime I bring you this quick dinner dish.

Pictured above is one of my quick go to recipes.  I make the aioli in about 5 minutes in a mortar and pestle.  Speaking of, I was reading Jamie Oliver;s website recently and I saw a thread where someone was bashing Jamie for having a recipe that suggested pounding something in a mortar and pestle.  The ranter was suggesting that he didn't have a 'gourmet' kitchen with all sorts of extra specialty equipment like that.  I just want to take a second to say that I really couldn't live without mine.  I use it all the time and it has a permanent home on my counter as it should since it weighs about 10 pounds and is made of a rough stone.  I bought it for a whopping $15.00 at an Asian market it is an indispensable tool. 

These thighs are so easy to make. 10 minutes to get them ready in the morning (or the night before) and another 5 minutes before you put them in the oven.  BIG reward for very little effort.  The aioli I use is more of a Spanish aioli, it is not mayonnaise based and I don't even use yolks in it.  It is pretty loose when you make it, so don't worry, it tastes lovely and GARLICKY! No vampires here.

For those car fans who allowed me a little moment of gearhead mixed in with the cooking recently do continue on, for those who want the recipe, just scroll on down and skip my little car diatribe.

In the end the family Pontiac was beyond the scope of restoration given her value as a restored car.  I would have had to pour 8 - 10 thousand into her to make her a nice set of wheels again.  In the end Dad and I decided to sell her and my hunt for a convertible carried on.  I had it pared down to a Mercedes 450SL or a 500SL or a Jaguar. Older ones are not difficult to find at a really reasonable price. My dad has collected many a Jag over the years and husband, being a Brit, was rallying for the English to win over the Germans.  Dad also has quite a few great jag mechanics under his belt (hello Elston!) for me to go to and that is key if you are going to own one of these beauties. This car came my way at just the right time and in just the right situation.  She is a California car, then Arizona. Stored when she came to MA and not driven at all for the last 4 years, the sticker on the windshield was from 2006 and the property of an estate. I brought her home a few weeks ago and I could not be happier.  So if you ever see her pulling up at your local Farmer's Market come and say hello I plan on spending lots of time with her this summer.

Roasted Chicken Thighs with Aioli and Herbs

5 cloves garlic, peeled

Kosher salt

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Bone in skin on chicken thighs

Fresh herbs - I use thyme, rosemary and sometimes tarragon and savory- don't chop it, use the whole twigs and branches

Lemon slices, at least one for each thigh

Place the garlic cloves in the mortar with a good pinch of kosher salt and pound into a paste.

Scrape everything to the center and begin adding oil a drop at a time while using the pestle to grind in a circle, not pounding.  Continue adding and stirring, adding and stirring.  After a TBS or two has gone in it should hold together fairly well and you can stream in the oil, but continue stirring with the pestle, grinding against the sides.  Stop occasionally to scrape down sides.  I generally end up with about 1/2 cup of oil.

Gently loosen the skin on the thighs so you can slather the mixture UNDER the skin, but keep the skin intact for roasting.  I pop them all in a ziploc and leave them in the fridge to hang out.

When you are ready to cook them, get a shallow roasting dish, set the oven to 425F.  Lay a lemon slice down, cover with some of the fresh herbs, no need to chop, whole twigs and branches are fine, lay over 1 thigh, season with a little kosher salt and pepper.  Continue doing this until all the thighs are in the pan.  I even use a spatula to scrape out any extra aioli from the bag to drizzle on top of the thighs.

Place in the oven and roast until an instant read thermometer reads 170F and the skin is nice and crispy.  Thighs are pretty forgiving and do not dry out easily.  Depending on how large your thighs are, this could take 25 - 35 minutes.

Once they are done I remove the thighs, take some tongs and squeeze out the lemon juice from the slices, pour off the pan drippings, remove the fat and use this as a sauce to pour over the chicken or the rice you might serve it with. 

 

Comments

[A Bluebonnet in Beantown]

This looks delish! We're huge garlic lovers, kids included. I'm noting this recipe down for a future dinner. We moved to the area last year, and I'm having so much fun learning about area farmer's markets and New England foodie sources. I'm looking forward to reading more of your blog.

[Don]

Sorry about the Pontiac but the Jag looks great.

Beautiful car but I would need a good mechanic on retainer and fully charged cell phone before I took it any where.

[jo]

Don;

I've owned a Fiat and a TR-7, once you have owned a car from the Prince of Darkness himself (Lucas) or an Italian sportscar you would never leave home without a AAA card and my cell phone. This jag is actually built after British Leyland sold off to Ford and it is a far more reliable vehicle than the early Jags. but rest assured, I have a great mechanic.

[c]

it's so lovely jo!
there's a long involved story going on here right now, the gist is that a car was badly damaged by the trucker who delivered it. we looked at the car and gave our best advice: TAKE THE INSURANCE MONEY AND RUN FAR FAR AWAY. you know that saying where you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him take good advice?

[Paul Perton]

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

I made this for supper last evening (used rosemary and oregano as fresh herbs) and there was great pigging-out. Neither my wife nor I were able to talk; there was chicken sitting just below our tonsils, walk (for obvious reasons), or sleep afterwards. What a fab meal.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you ;-)

[Al]

Great recipe, great presentation. Thank you for sharing.

[mitakapur]

For all the foodies out there, I request you to please let me post information about my book 'The F-Word' which is an experiential writing on food. I'd be grateful and look forward to your response.

'The F-Word' is a madcap account of a working woman juggling family, friends, long distance phone calls and food. How do you serve a nutritious yet delicious meal to a large family of individuals of varying ages and with extreme differences in taste? What is the trick to adapting a great tasting but swimming-in-oil restaurant special so it keeps the punch and loses the grease? What does a woman do to keep them all - partner, children, in-laws, pals - healthy and happy without quietly going out of her mind? A culinary romp with unexpectedly tender moments interspersed with seriously good recipes to suit every taste.
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Mita Kapur is a freelance journalist regularly featured in many newspapers and magazines. She covers social and developmental issues along with travel, food and lifestyle humor stories. She is the founder and CEO of Siyahi, a literary consultancy where she doubles up as a literary agent along with conceptualizing and directing literary events.

Thank you,
Warm regards,
Mita

[dining room tables]

The chicken looks so good. I can't wait to try this one. I am really fond of chicken really.

[oklahoma auto glass]

Lovely car!

[Jacob Rodman]

That Jag is gorgeous. The lines are sleek and the V12 engine will make sure that no one will catch this wildcat on the road. Mercedes are nice cars too, but hey, I love the British machines. I used to drive a Land Rover, haha. And I love the recipe, I should try cooking it sometime.