
Chicken and potatoes, salad included
Harissa-slicked, leek-strewn and fully dressed on one pan.
At a Glance
Story
Melissa Clark's trick here is finishing a roast with raw salad, the arugula and dill land on the hot pan and half-wilt into the drippings, so the salad course happens on the same pan as the main. If you double it for a crowd, use two pans. Crowded chicken steams instead of browning, and steamed chicken is a tragedy nobody claps for.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb chicken thighs and drumsticks
- 1 ¼ lb small Yukon Gold potatoeshalved and cut into ½-inch slices
- 2 ½ tsp kosher saltmore as needed
- ½ tsp black peppermore as needed
- 2 tbsp harissaor another thick hot sauce such as sriracha
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 4 ½ tbsp extra-virgin olive oilmore as needed
- 2 leekswhite and light green parts, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
- ½ tsp lemon zestfrom ½ lemon
- ⅓ cup plain yogurtnot Greek
- 1 clove garlicsmall
- 2 oz baby arugula
- fresh dillchopped, as needed
- lemon juiceas needed
Method
Harissa-slicked chicken, crisped potatoes, sweet collapsing leeks and a garlicky yogurt to drag everything through. One pan, fully dressed.
- Combine the chicken and potatoes in a large bowl and season with the salt and pepper. Whisk the harissa, cumin and 3 tablespoons of the oil, pour it over and toss well. Let it stand 30 minutes at room temperature, or up to 8 hours in the fridge if you are the organized sort.
- Toss the leeks with the lemon zest, a pinch of salt and the remaining 1½ tablespoons of oil.
- Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Spread the chicken and potatoes on a large rimmed sheet pan in a single layer. Roast 15 minutes, then give the potatoes a turn.
- Scatter the leeks over the pan and roast until everything is golden, crisped at the edges and cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes more.
- Meanwhile, spoon the yogurt into a small bowl and grate the garlic clove straight in. Season with salt and pepper.
- Spoon the garlic yogurt over the hot pan, then shower on the arugula and dill. A drizzle of oil, a squeeze of lemon, done.
Bring the whole pan to the table. It looks better than any platter you own.
More to cook

Crisp rice cakes and sausage in a ketchup glaze
Rice cakes fried until they crackle, then lacquered in ketchup and miso with the sausage.

A full course of Italian penicillin
Chicken soup's glamorous Italian cousin, with a spicy crumb and a cold lemon dollop.

Harissa shrimp broiled over a tray of greens
The greens go in first with half a cup of water, and the shrimp only arrive once the broiler takes over.

Salt and pepper dumplings straight from the freezer
Frozen potstickers and green beans, tossed at the last second in salt, sugar and more black pepper than seems wise.

Garlic noodles the way San Francisco does them
Two heads of garlic, plenty of butter and three bottles from the cupboard, done in the time it takes to boil the pasta.

Shrimp over creamed corn, and rather a lot of feta
Corn simmered soft in cream and butter, then blitzed until chunky and used the way you would use grits.

Creamy lemon spaghetti with a Sichuan pepper buzz
Crème fraîche, miso and lemon make the sauce, and toasted Sichuan peppercorns go in twice so your lips hum.

Chicken sausage and lemon, baked as a lasagna
A lasagna that went on holiday and came back with a tan and a lemon habit.

Pumpkin pasta with sausage and crisp sage
Tinned pumpkin, Gruyère and a sheet pan to crisp the lot.

Sausage lasagna spread thin for the crust
Lasagna with no layers, baked flat on a sheet pan, and an insult to nonnas everywhere.

Vodka rigatoni, baked till the tops crackle
Vodka sauce given a sheet pan, a jar of Calabrian chilis and a honey drizzle it did nothing to deserve.

Charred corn and halloumi panzanella with chili crisp
One bowl, mostly made in the morning, so the cook can sit down with the guests.

Chicken and zucchini meatballs under a feta sauce
Half the meatball is grated zucchini, which is the only reason a chicken meatball has any business being this juicy.

Dan dan noodles, served cold on purpose
The sesame and chile sauce is bossy enough to work as a dressing, so the noodles never need to be hot.

Zucchini parmesan, roasted not fried
All the comfort of the fried original, a fraction of the oil, and no pan spitting at you.