Roasted Chicken with Leeks

Roasted Chicken and Leeks

I love the sweet, oniony flavor of leeks, but if you don’t then the chicken can be made without them, or you can use carrots instead. This recipe was adapted from Gourmet Magazine’s Chicken in Riesling.

Ingredients:

One  3 1/2 – 4 1/2 pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces (you can have your butcher do this for you)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 tablespoon olive oil
2-3 leeks, top dark green part removed
1 cup white wine (see suggestions below)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350

Season chicken with salt, pepper and thyme

Slice the leeks thinly or cut into 3-inch chunks. Separate the layers.

Heat olive oil in a heavy pan over high or medium high heat. Add chicken, browning for about 7 minutes on the first side and 5-7 minutes on the second side.

Turn the heat down to medium and remove the chicken from the pan, placing it in an ovenproof baking pan, dutch oven, casserole dish etc…

Add leeks to the pan on the stove and saute until lightly browned and soft, about seven minutes

Add the wine to the pan and simmer 2 minutes, then pour the leeks and wine over the chicken.
Cover the roasting pan and roast  in the oven for 30 minutes.

Tips:

Recipe time: 1 hour
Approximate Servings: 4

• I like to trim a little bit of the skin off the chicken with a kitchen shears before it cooks, but you can leave all the skin on if you like. If you trim all the skin off, you’re likely to end up with dry chicken.
• Use a white wine that has some body and fruitiness, like Riesling or Chenin Blanc. I used a $6 Vouvray (made from the Chenin Blanc grape) that I bought at Trader Joe’s.
• Serve this dish with something to soak up the flavorful white wine broth, like mashed potatoes or pureed cauliflower.