One-Pan Lemon Chicken

The whole thing happens in one pan and one oven dish. The lemon goes in whole, sliced thin, skin and all — it softens and stops being sharp.

Ingredients

8 chicken thighs, bone in and skin on · 2 lemons · 6 garlic cloves · 700 g waxy potatoes · 3 tbsp olive oil · 1 tsp dried oregano · salt, black pepper · a small handful of parsley

Method

Heat the oven to 200 °C. Cut the potatoes into wedges no thicker than your thumb and spread them in a roasting dish big enough that they sit in a single layer. Slice one lemon thinly and scatter it over, then tuck in the garlic cloves, unpeeled.

Dry the chicken skin with kitchen paper — this matters more than anything else here. Rub the thighs with oil, oregano and a generous amount of salt, then sit them skin side up on the potatoes. Don't crowd them; if the dish is small, use two.

Roast for 30 minutes, then check the skin. If it isn't properly browned, give it another 8–10 minutes. Squeeze the second lemon over everything while the dish is still hot, scatter parsley, and let it sit 5 minutes before serving. The potatoes underneath are the best part.

Notes

Bone-in thighs are far more forgiving than breast. If you only have breast, reduce the cooking time and cover the dish for the first half.