When you’re cooking for one or two, a half-chicken is the perfect size, plus the flattened shape ensures maximally crispy skin – the reason we’re all here in the first place. If you can’t find a halved chicken at the market, you can use either two bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts or two chicken legs (or a combo of both). You’ve got options! The most important takeaway is that tucking shingled potatoes underneath a chicken is one of the greatest ways to cook a tuber. –Molly Baz, celebrity food personality and writer
Molly Baz's Chili-Basted Chicken With Caper Chimichurri
Molly Baz's recipe for a chili-basted half chicken roasted with potatoes and served with bright caper chimichurri.
Ingredients
- 3 cloves garlic divided
- 1 tbsp Aleppo pepper or ¾ tsp hot pepper flakes
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil approx, divided
- ½ chicken leg and breast attached, or any combination of 2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts or legs
- 1 large Yukon Gold potato 8 oz, thinly sliced into ¼-inch-thick rounds
- ¾ tsp kosher salt approx
Caper Chimichurri
- 1 small shallot coarsely chopped
- 1 bunch cilantro coarsely chopped
- 1 serrano chili or jalapeno coarsely chopped (seeds removed if you are spice-averse)
- 1 tbsp capers in brine drained
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
- kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- In small bowl, finely grate 2 garlic cloves; stir in Aleppo pepper, smoked paprika and a few glugs of olive oil – enough to turn it into a wet, sandlike paste.
- Pat dry chicken with paper towels and season all over with salt.
- In large cast-iron skillet, heat a glug of olive oil over medium-high until you see wisps of smoke. Arrange chicken in skillet, skin side down; reduce heat to medium. Place another heavy skillet on top of chicken to encourage the skin to make contact with the oil. Cook until skin is deeply golden brown and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Turn off heat.
- Remove chicken to a plate, skin side up. (The chicken will still be raw underneath; this is only temporary.) In skillet, arrange potato slices in concentric circles, overlapping some. Brush with some of the chili-garlic oil and season with salt.
- Place chicken on top of potatoes, skin side up; brush all over with more of the chili-garlic oil. Transfer to oven and roast, brushing schmaltz oil onto chicken or spooning it over once or twice, until an instant-read thermometer placed in thickest part of breast registers 160°F, about 30 minutes.
- Transfer chicken to cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes before carving. If potatoes are not yet crisp around the edges, return to oven until the outside rings are brown and crisp and the potatoes’ interiors are tender and schmaltzy. This is a best-of-both-worlds kind of situation – you’re not looking for full-blown potato chips.
Caper Chimichurri
- In a food processor or blender, add shallot, cilantro, serrano, capers and the remaining 1 garlic clove; pulse to finely chop. Add oil and vinegar and blend again until combined but not totally smooth. Season with salt.
- Serve chicken and potatoes with chimichurri.
Notes
If you don’t have a food processor, you can make the Caper Chimichurri by hand by finely chopping all the herbs and vegetables and stirring in the oil and vinegar.
