Normally, I buy skinless chicken thighs but I found this recipe on Pinterest and specifically bought skin-on chicken this week in order to try out Nigella’s recipe. I always love a one-dish dinner where everything cooks together in the oven so I was hopeful about this Spanish chicken rendition. Alas, I did not have chorizo, although my grocery store does have it, I already had some thick-cut bacon at home I wanted to use up instead.

Ready to go in the oven ©Everyday Cooking Adventures 2013

Don’t make my mistake and use a medium roasting pan…there will NOT be enough room! Use a large one so you can evenly bake everything and baste more easily. Also, every time I roast onion slices in the oven they tend to burn up after about 30 minutes and spend the rest of the cooking time becoming hard and sticky rocks that take forever to scrape off during dishes time. So this time I finally learned my lesson and added the onion for just the last 30 minutes when I also basted the chicken with the juices.

When I went to baste the chicken there wasn’t a lot of juice to actually baste with! So I squeezed about 2-3 tablespoons of orange juice (from the oranges I zested with) over the chicken pieces which made them sizzle and I think helped keep them moist for the rest of cooking. The chicken was delicious—I loved the crispy skin! I did add a dash of salt to the potatoes but otherwise the dish was a hit and absolutely a winner! Here’s my spanish chicken:

Spanish Chicken with Potatoes ©Everyday Cooking Adventures 2013

Spanish Chicken with Potatoes

by: Nigella Lawson
Serves: 2-3

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3-4 chicken thighs with skin and bone still on (amount depending on size)
• 1/2 lb chorizo (whole if baby ones or cut into 1½ inch chunks if regular sized)
• 3-4 new potatoes (halved)
• 1/2 red onion (peeled and roughly chopped)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• grated zest of 1/2 an orange
• My Additions: 2-3 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice & 2 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped roughly

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
2. Put the oil in the bottom of a large, shallow roasting dish. Rub the skin of the chicken in the oil, then turn skin-side up.
3. Add in the chorizo sausage (or bacon) and the new potatoes. Sprinkle with the onion (or wait and add the onion after 30 minutes of baking) and the oregano, then grate the orange zest over top.
4. Cook for 1 hour, but after 30 minutes baste the contents with the orange-coloured juices.  (Add 1/4 cup of orange juice over the chicken to add moisture after 30 minutes as well).