Crispy Chicken Thighs with Spring Vegetables
To achieve beautifully crisp skin on chicken thighs, we sear them in a nonstick fry pan, then roast them on a baking sheet in a hot oven. Meanwhile, we quickly cook a medley of fresh spring vegetables in the same fry pan, enriching everything with a light butter and white wine sauce. A bit of bacon lends salty-savory goodness to the dish.
Ingredients
- 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 2 1/4 lb./1 kg total)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 3 oz. (90 g) bacon, cut into 1-inch (2.5-cm) pieces
- 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 small leeks, white portion only, thinly sliced and rinsed well
- 1 bunch spring onions or green onions, white and light green portions, thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 Tbs. unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup (4 fl. oz./125 ml) dry white wine
- 1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 oz./330 g) shelled fava beans, lima beans or English peas
- 3 oz. (90 g) sugar snap peas, halved crosswise
- 2 oz. (60 g) snow peas
- Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
- Flaky sea salt
- Fresh tarragon leaves for garnish
- Fresh dill sprigs for garnish
Directions
Preheat an oven to 400°F (200°C). Season the chicken thighs with kosher salt and pepper.
In a nonstick fry pan over medium-high heat, cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel–lined plate.
Add the chicken, skin side down, to the pan and cook until the skin is golden brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Turn the chicken over and cook until browned on the other side, about 5 minutes more. Transfer the chicken to a baking sheet and roast in the oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a thigh, away from the bone, registers 170°F (77°C), about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, wipe out the fry pan, place over medium heat and warm the olive oil. Add the leeks, spring onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until just wilted, 3 to 5 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the butter and wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter has melted and the wine has reduced to form a thick sauce, about 1 minute. Add the fava beans, sugar snap peas and snow peas and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, season to taste with salt and pepper and add a squeeze of lemon juice.
Return the bacon to the pan and nestle the cooked chicken into the vegetables. Season with flaky sea salt, garnish with tarragon and dill and serve immediately. Serves 4.
Williams Sonoma Test Kitchen