While the name of this dish isn’t all that exciting, I find Jamie Oliver’s “Chicken Potatoes and Tomatoes” to be a delicious and flavorful meal to share with others. My sister-in-law, Alden, and I made this delicious meal when I visited them in Newport, RI a couple of weeks ago. Both Alden and my mom discovered this Jamie Oliver recipe in The Week Magazine a while ago. I appreciate that my family members are always on the lookout for naturally gluten-free recipes to make.
I love that there are so many meals and recipes that don’t need any changes made to make them gluten-free and this is one of those meals. It seems that more and more in the cooking world, chefs are realizing that gluten-free food is better and more flavorful. So when you’re looking for recipes to make, don’t feel like you have to look for meals and recipes labeled gluten-free. I use ‘real’ cookbooks all the time and I’m always amazed at how many dishes are naturally gluten free.
This is a great recipe for entertaining because all of the hard work can be done in advance so when your guests arrive, the meal’s in the oven and most of the dishes are already done. I also like this meal because it’s truly a ‘family-style’ dinner. One dish in the middle of the table that everyone uses to serve themselves.
When Alden pulled out the recipe card, she described the recipe as easier than it looks and she was definitely right. It seems like there are a lot of steps, especially browning the chicken in the dutch oven and boiling the potatoes before you bake, but it’s really pretty simple. Don’t be intimidated! I made this meal again last week once I got back to Atlanta and I was able to recreate it mostly from memory. When I made it most recently, David was late getting home so I had to let the meal sit for a while before I baked it and it didn’t affect the dish at all.
Jamie Oliver’s Chicken, Potatoes and Tomatoes (Serves 4-6)
Ingredients:
1 ¾ lb. new potatoes (I used small red potatoes and cut them in half)
12 chicken thighs, skin on (I left the bone in because I think it makes for nicer cooking…a little messier eating but that’s alright)
1 ½ lb. cherry tomatoes
Fresh oregano (I’ve used rosemary instead both times I made this and it was delicious)
3 T. Olive oil
1 T. Red wine vinegar
Salt & Pepper
Directions:
Preheat over to 400
Boil potatoes until cooked. Cut each chicken thigh into 3 strips. (Again, I left the bone in on one of the strips so mine weren’t evenly cut…it didn’t seem to make any difference). Place in a bowl and toss with 1 T. olive oil, salt and pepper.
Heat a large frying pan or dutch oven on medium high heat and brown chicken, skin side down. Turn chicken so you brown both sides. This should take about 8-10 minutes total. Remove and put chicken in oven safe dish. (You might need to cook chicken in two batches if it doesn’t all lie flat in the pan.)
Drain cooked potatoes and lights mash them. Add to chicken. Add tomatoes. Mash oregano/rosemary with salt and olive oil and red wine vinegar and pepper. Pour over chicken. Toss. Make sure that you use a big enough dish so that all of the ingredients should fit in one layer. I used a Pyrex casserole dish. (Jamie Oliver uses a dutch oven, but it would have to be a huge dutch oven.
Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and serve at table. We also served a simple arugula salad with a homemade vinaigrette at our dinner table. You don’t need to worry about making lots of side dishes with this one. Chicken, Tomatoes and Potatoes is a hearty meal but very light and healthy. It feels like ‘comfort food’ without the post-dinner discomfort. We had lots of leftovers both times I made this and it’s great for lunch the next day.
A versatile, easy and yummy meal…if only we could just come up with a better name for it.
Great recipe! I am not GF, but these recipes are delicious. I also added a sliced onion to the pan before cooking, and then broccoli about 20 mins before it finished in the oven.
Those sound like great modifications to the recipe. I think onion makes everything better! I bet the broccoli added nice color to the dish. Thanks for sharing.