i make chicken legs every tuesday for one of my clients. she loves them. i can honestly say that i have never much been into dark meat. i always lean towards boneless, skinless breasts. well, this weekend i wanted to try the recipe that i have been making every week and see what all the "hype" was about. now i know. i went to whole foods on sunday and sorta just wondered around looking at all of the new produce. i decided to roast fall vegetables with the chicken, and boy was it good. for the chicken, i bought chicken legs. some refer to them as chicken quarters. it is basically the drumstick and thigh together. start by chopping some fresh rosemary and garlic. toss it in a zip lock bag with the chicken and add some olive oil. let marinate for a few hours. make sure to get the garlic and rosemary up under the skin. (you'll thank me for this). with about an hour left before you are going to cook the chicken, squeeze one lemon into the bag and mix to incorporate. pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. in a non stick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. salt and pepper the chicken. once the pan good and hot, add the chicken legs, skin side down, and brown for 5 minutes. turn the chicken over and pop in the oven for 25 minutes, or until a thermometer reaches 165 degrees. i decided to add the vegetables into the pan with the chicken and roast them alongside. i used a combination of purple potatoes, turnips, parsnips, carrots, black radish (yum), cipollini onions, and a few whole garlic cloves. i also tossed in some green olives during the last 5 minutes of roasting. outstanding. give this meal a try. it is perfect for these fall nights upon us.
