Happy New Year! Please allow me to introduce you to your new favorite chef, Eden Grinshpan. If you already know Eden (@EdenEats), you rock. If you don’t, she is a a chef, food personality, and the current host of Top Chef Canada. She specialized in Middle Eastern flavors, and while sometimes her recipes call for ingredients you’ve never heard of (or at least I haven’t), they are easy and delicious. She is a mom who cooks food she knows her kids will eat, which I also appreciate. Here is one of my favorites. My kiddos devour everything but the “green sauce” (chimichurri).
INGREDIENTS:
- 6 chicken legs — bone-in and skin-on
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 lemons — 1 sliced into thick pieces and the other one juiced
- 1 head, plus 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more for potatoes
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more for potatoes
- 10 medium Yukon gold potatoes
- 3 shallots — sliced in half lengthwise
- Sea salt to finish
Chimicurri Sauce
- 1/4 cup capers, drained and finely chopped
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 small clove of garlic, grated
- Kosher salt to taste
DIRECTIONS:
- Pre-heat to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a bowl combine 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, sweet paprika, smoked paprika, cumin, turmeric, juice of 1 lemon, 4 cloves of grated garlic, and the chicken legs. Mix really well and let marinate for at least an hour.
- Fill a large pot with water and season generously with salt. Add in the potatoes and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes and remove when a knife slides in easily. Strain into a colander and let steam dry.
- When cool enough to handle, slice the smaller potatoes in half and the larger ones into thirds. Place in a large roasting tray and add the sliced shallots, head of garlic (slice in half or break into individual cloves) and sliced lemon. Drizzle with the 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil and season generously with salt and cracked black pepper.
- Toss it all together and then lay the marinated chicken legs on top with the skin side up.
- Place into the preheated oven and let roast for 45 minutes to an hour, until crispy.
- Meanwhile, make the chimichurri by mixing finely chopped cilantro, chopped capers, grated garlic, olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
- Remove chicken from the oven and place on a serving platter. Serve with chimichurri.
