Lemon-Thyme Roasted Chicken with Ratatouille

Why This Recipe Works

Despite its simple nature, the preparation of this dish can be onerous, requiring multiple pans and cooking stages for the ratatouille alone. Seeking an easier method, we turned to a sheet pan. Not only would its large surface area accommodate both the chicken and the vegetables, but exposing the food to dry heat would prevent the vegetables from becoming soggy—a hallmark of bad ratatouille. We selected bone-in chicken breasts, which gave us juicy, tender meat without being too fussy or producing too much grease. To get nicely golden skin, we preheated the baking sheet, oiled it to prevent sticking, and placed the chicken, skin side down, on the pan to sear them. We chopped eggplant and zucchini into bite-size pieces and tossed them with canned tomatoes (ideal for year-round cooking), seasoning them with garlic and plenty of thyme to drive home the authentic flavor. We scattered the vegetables opposite the chicken. Halfway through roasting, we flipped the chicken, stirred the vegetables, and added lemon wedges to roast for a flavor boost. Peeking in 5 minutes later, we stirred the vegetables again—they were really beginning to soften—and then once more to ensure that every piece was cooked and all the excess liquid could evaporate. Minutes later, our chicken was ready, the ratatouille was tender and moist but not wet, and we even had juicy roasted lemon wedges to squeeze over everything. All that was missing was some crusty bread.