Name: Skillet-Roasted Chicken and Potatoes for Two
Total time: 1 h
Ingredients: 2 (10-ounce) chicken leg quarters , trimmed; 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme; Salt and pepper; 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes , peeled and sliced into ½-inch-thick rounds; 2 shallots , halved through root end; 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley; 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest , plus lemon wedges for serving; 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

Why This Recipe Works

This recipe hits all the right notes of the much-loved roast chicken dinner—and in just one skillet. A bit of batch cooking helped develop savory browning on both the chicken leg quarters and the potatoes while adding chicken flavor to the vegetables. Lining the skillet with ½-inch slices of potato and giving them a quick jump start on the stove helped ensure that they browned in the oven. Next, placing the chicken directly on top of the potatoes allowed for chicken drippings to fall right into the potatoes beneath, bumping up their creamy texture and their flavor.

Before You Begin

You can substitute two 10- to 12-ounce bone-in split chicken breasts for the leg quarters, if desired. Be sure to cook the breasts to 160 degrees in step 4, about 35 minutes.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and sprinkle with thyme, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Toss potatoes, shallots, 1 tablespoon oil, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper together in bowl. Combine parsley, lemon zest, garlic, and pinch salt in small bowl; set aside.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch ovensafe nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook until well browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate, skin side up.

Place potatoes and shallots in single layer in now-empty skillet. Cook over medium heat, without moving vegetables, until bottoms of potatoes are golden brown, about 5 minutes.

Place chicken, skin side up, on top of vegetables and transfer skillet to oven. Roast until chicken registers 175 degrees and potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley mixture. Serve, passing lemon wedges separately.