Chicken Vesuvio - CI

By norsegal8

An equal weight of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, legs (separated into thigh and drumstick pieces), or split breasts (each breast halved lengthwise) may be substituted for the whole chicken. If you don’t care for chicken skin, simply remove it after pan-frying and before baking. A large, 8-quart Dutch oven with a diameter of 12 inches serves this dish well. If using a Le Creuset Dutch oven, heat the oil for an extra minute.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 whole chicken (about 3 1/2 pounds), giblets and wings discarded; chicken cut into 8 pieces (2 each of thighs and drumsticks, with breast cut into quarters)
• 3/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 Yukon Gold potatoes (about 8 ounces each), peeled and cut lengthwise into 8 wedges about 3/4 inch thick
• 2 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic or pressed garlic (8 to 12 medium cloves)
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 2 sprigs fresh oregano leaves
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice from 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 400 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with paper towels.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat until hot and shimmering, but not smoking, about 2 minutes. Meanwhile, thoroughly pat chicken dry with paper towels and sprinkle pieces with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place chicken pieces skin-side down in single layer in pot and cook without moving them until uniformly golden brown and crisp, 4 to 6 minutes (if chicken is browning too quickly, reduce heat). Reduce heat to medium; using tongs, turn chicken pieces over and cook until uniformly golden brown and crisp on second side, 8 to 10 minutes longer. Transfer chicken, skin-side up, to prepared baking sheet.

3. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pot. Add potatoes, arranging them in single layer with one flat side of each wedge against bottom of pot; cook until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and turn potatoes; cook until golden brown on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes longer. Transfer potatoes to baking sheet with chicken.

4. Remove pot from burner and cool 2 minutes. Add all but 1 teaspoon garlic and cook, using pot’s residual heat, until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds; add wine, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Return chicken pieces skin-side up to pot, then arrange potatoes on top.

5. Bake uncovered 10 minutes; using tongs, rearrange so chicken is on top of potatoes and facing skin-side up (see illustration below). Bake until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast pieces registers 160 degrees, 8 to 10 minutes longer; remove breast pieces to serving dish and tent loosely with foil. Return pot with thighs, drumsticks, and potatoes to oven and cook until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 175 degrees, 5 to 10 minutes longer. Arrange chicken and potatoes in serving dish; discard herb stems. Stir remaining 1 teaspoon garlic and lemon juice into liquid in pot; pour sauce over chicken and potatoes, sprinkle with parsley, and serve.