Name: Roasted Chicken Thighs with Potatoes and Green Beans
Total time: 50 min
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled, cut into ½-inch pieces; 1 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths; 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1½ tablespoons kosher salt, divided; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 2 teaspoons minced fresh sage; 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary; 1 teaspoon pepper, divided; 8 (5- to 7-ounce) bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed; ¼ cup dry white wine; 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Why This Recipe Works

The microwave does genuinely useful work here, parcooking the potatoes and green beans so they finish at exactly the same time as the chicken without turning mushy or drying out under the high oven heat. Pressing the vegetables into an even layer in the baking dish created a flat, stable platform that held the chicken thighs in place so that they were primed to soak up the drippings. Browning the chicken in a skillet before it went into the oven built a golden, rendered skin that stayed crisp through the roasting time. And the pan drippings were too good to waste: Stirring wine and lemon into the fat left behind after browning the chicken and then drizzling it over the finished dish added brightness and acidity that cut through the richness of the chicken and united the components into one cohesive meal.

Before You Begin

For a nonalcoholic version of this recipe, substitute chicken broth for the wine.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Combine potatoes, green beans, oil, 1 tablespoon salt, garlic, sage, rosemary, and ½ teaspoon pepper in large bowl. Microwave, covered, until vegetables are just tender, 12 to 15 minutes, stirring once halfway through microwaving. Transfer mixture to 13 by 9-inch baking dish and press into even layer.

Meanwhile, pat chicken dry with paper towels. Sprinkle all over with remaining 1½ teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Place chicken, skin side down, in 12-inch nonstick skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until skin is light golden brown, about 10 minutes. Flip chicken and cook until second side is well browned, about 5 minutes.

Arrange chicken, skin side up, on top of potato mixture. Off heat, carefully stir wine and lemon zest and juice into fat remaining in skillet, then drizzle evenly over chicken. Roast until chicken registers at least 175 degrees, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve.