Citrus Herb Roasted Chicken

Citrus Herb Roasted Chicken Thighs

I have been cooking organic chicken thighs once a week lately. The easiest way to cook them is to roast them in the oven. I winged a recipe today based on my vague memory of something I cooked back in February.

Earlier this year, I made this whole roasted chicken to celebrate birthdays for our friends, Ariel & Josh, based on this recipe.

Uncooked

Roasted

I've grown tired of the usual savory marinades including Herbs de Provence, sweet & spicy, and lemon garlic. I wanted something brighter for my skin-on, bone-in organic chicken thighs on Sunday night. It just so happened that I had an organic tangelo, fresh mint, and Italian parsley on hand. 

The Marinade

Shallot, orange zest, fresh basil, fresh mint, fresh parsley, EVOO, salt & pepper

Steps

Preheat oven to 400F. Zest the orange.

Add finely chopped shallots and seasoning.

 Chop fresh herbs. Drizzle in EVOO. Stir to form a paste.

Season chicken with salt & pepper. Rub marinade on both sides and underneath skin. I like skin-on chicken because it keeps it from drying out in the oven. Roast in oven for 20-30 minutes, depending on thickness. When done cooking, let is rest for at least five minute prior to serving.

I served my chicken with a bed of organic spinach and roasted green beans (cooked at the same time as the chicken in the oven for 20 minutes). Check out my blog post from yesterday for the vinaigrette ingredients. 

When I was creating the marinade, I had a feeling that it needed lemon zest and citrus juice. I didn't have lemons in my pantry and I opted to omit the juice so I could roast in a sheet pan without excess liquid. It turned out to be a more savory version of the whole roasted one.


What are your favorite simple, go-to chicken marinades? Let me know in the Comments section.