Roasted Curry Chicken with Potatoes and Raisins
Other than the ingredients, all you need to make a delicious and easy dinner is one knife to chop, one bowl to mix and one sheet pan to roast. No special equipment required, except an oven. What you do need is time to mix, marinate and bake. Roasted curry chicken with potatoes and raisins has it all. A flavor packed one-pan meal with warming spices and fruity-sweetness enveloping tender chicken meat and potatoes.
For this recipe, as well as salt I added a ground curry spice blend for the main seasoning. My recipe for roasted chicken curry is not traditional Indian cuisine, or any curry meal from Asia. It is an American rift inspired by Indian flavors, and ease of preparation. I love curry, but there are so many types and each one is as unique as the cook making it. Every country, region, city and cook has its own variation of spices for curries. As I learn more about curries and the cuisines that developed them, I plan to make my own curry spice blends. Until that time, I’ll take a shortcut and use store-bought ground curry to satisfy my hankering for curry flavors.
Chicken for a cook, is like a blank canvas for an artist. It is the foundation from which all added flavor will enhance. Because chicken has a mild taste and texture, it benefits from adding seasoning and then letting the flavors steep into the meat before cooking. Of course, if pressed for time, you will still have a decent tasting curry chicken dinner if you must skip the marinating step. However, taking the extra time to marinate will make a big difference in the over-all depth of flavor.
More one pan dinner recipes:
Mediterranean Style Chicken Dinner
Oven Baked Chicken with Shallots and Fennel
Spanish Style Mussels with Chorizo
I realize not all children like the spiciness of curry powder. Some curry blends have a lot of pepper and chilies in them. If you can find a ground curry blend that is on the sweet side it might change your family’s opinion of curry. I found a Massale curry blend from Spice and Tease in New York City. It is similar to a Garam Massala but not as hot and peppery as other curry blends. For more information, here is an article explaining the differences of the two spice blends.
I love making meals where I can mix together the flavors I love and cook them together on one pan in the oven and forget about it. No standing or stirring over a hot stove. Just place in the oven and bake. This easy recipe, of roasted curry chicken with potatoes and raisins is so simple it is hard to make a chicken dinner any other way. The raisins may seem out-of-place, but the sweetness compliments and softens any heat in the curry spices. Add, additional vegetables, like cauliflower or broccoli, for a more well-rounded dinner.
Roasted Curry Chicken with Potatoes and Raisins
Ingredients
Curry Chicken with Potatoes
- 3 garlic cloves mashed
- 1- inch 2.5 cm piece of fresh ginger*, grated
- 3 TB 35 g extra virgin olive oil
- 1 TB curry spice blend not a spicy curry blend
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- Fresh ground pepper
- Zest from one lemon and juice- divided
- 1 TB chopped fresh tarragon can use dried tarragon if fresh is not available, but only 1 teaspoon
- 6 chicken thighs either bone-in and skin on, or boneless
- 1 lb 450g fingerling potatoes, or other small wax potato like red potatoes or Yukon Gold
- 1/2 medium onion sliced in half moons no more than 1/4 inch (6mm)
- 1/4 cup 60 ml raisins
- Optional: Half a head of cauliflower cut into flowerettes. Reduce the potatoes to 1/2 to 2/3 lbs 225 g - 300 g.
Yogurt Sauce
- 4 oz 125 g plain yogurt
- Juice from half a lemon
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/2- inch 1.3 cm piece of fresh ginger*, grated
Instructions
Chicken Curry
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Peel each clove then slice in half. If the green germ is there, remove it. If you have a fine microplane grater, grate the garlic cloves. Or, scatter a pinch of salt over a pile of roughly minced garlic cloves then mash the garlic with the side of your chef's knife. Move the blade from side to side pressing down with the blade until the garlic forms a paste. Add the garlic paste to a medium mixing bowl large enough to hold the chicken and vegetables.
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Mince or grate the ginger root and add to the bowl with the garlic.
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Add the olive oil, curry powder, lemon zest, Kosher salt, a couple of rounds of fresh ground black pepper, tarragon, and juice from half a lemon. Mix until just incorporated.
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Add the chicken, potatoes, onion slices and raisins (cauliflower if using). Using your clean hands mix the chicken and vegetables until the marinade evenly coats all the pieces. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator and marinate for 2 hours or up to 8 hours.
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Take the chicken out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before you want to cook dinner and bring up to room temperature. The chicken can rest up to one hour on the counter before cooking. Pre-heat the oven to 400°F (204°C) twenty minutes before you are ready to cook.
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Spread the chicken and vegetables evenly across a low sided sheet pan. The sheet pan should be just big enough for the chicken and potatoes to fit comfortably without overcrowding. Too big of a pan and the juices will dry up. Too small of a pan and the ingredients will steam.
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Place the sheet pan in the oven middle rack.
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Bake for 20 minutes, then using a thin spatula, turn the potatoes around. Bake for another 20 minutes. Check the chicken and potatoes to see if they are done. The chicken is done when an instant read thermometer inserted in the thickest part reads 165°F - 170°F (74°C - 77°C) and the juices run clear. The potatoes are done when they are tender when pierced with a fork.
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If either ingredient needs more cooking time, remove the chicken or potatoes and place on a plate cover and keep warm. Continue to cook until the vegetables or chicken is done.
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While the chicken is baking make the yogurt sauce. Mix together the yogurt, grated ginger, Kosher salt and lemon juice in a small bowl. Cover and set aside until the chicken is done. Just before serving, garnish with fresh herbs and lemon zest.
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Serve curry chicken and vegetables with the yogurt sauce on the side.
Recipe Notes
*Do not substitute the fresh ginger with powdered ginger. The curry spice blend might already have powdered ginger in its mix. The minced ginger adds a fresh ginger flavor.
© 2017 – 2018, Ginger Smith- Lemon Thyme and Ginger. All rights reserved.
One Pan! One Meal! Let’s Eat Together and Feel all Right.
Bob Marley’s song, One Love, is swayin’ in my head. “One Love! One Heart! Let’s get together and feel all right.” Where it came from is anybody’s guess, but I am swayin’ and singing along with Bob Marley as I write. I hear his soothing and rhythmic voice clearly which is a lot nicer than the lawn mowers and cars that can drudge on in the background for the whole day. “One love! One Heart! Let’s get together and feel all right.” If I am to get a song stuck in my head, this mantra is a good one: a reminder to give thanks.
I am working and dancing around different music genres today, looking for inspiration everywhere. Earlier I had Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite waltzing through my mind while I was editing photographs of baby turnips. It is so easy to take ordinary things for granted, but I have found since I started photographing ordinary things like turnips, I look for the extraordinary in the ordinary, and I see it within the shape, color and texture of the objects.
While I was photographing turnips, I started to admire the grace, shape and color of young turnips, and they reminded of the dancing fairies in Disney’s movie Fantasia. Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite started playing in my head along with images of dancing turnip ballerinas. Photographing baby turnips inspired fun visual imagines: my next task was to discover what delicious characteristics the humble turnip has to offer.
There is nothing sexy about turnips. Even the name is off-putting and harsh. No one is going to lean in and whisper in a sultry voice, “Would you like to taste my turnips?” Who do you think could pull that off? Before you find your way to the exit door, stop and consider giving the humble turnip a try for your next dinner idea.
Sheet Pan Dinner with Chicken, Carrots, Turnips and Tarragon
Young turnips bulbs have a smooth and pearly white flesh with fresh green leaves that have a peppery smell. If you can get turnips with their greens intact use them in your meal. Other than soup, turnips can be braised or roasted, and pair well with carrots and other root vegetables. I particularly like turnips braised in butter with leeks, carrots, and fresh tarragon.
Combining turnips with carrots and chicken makes a simple and delicious family meal, that everyone in your family will enjoy and want to come together for a weeknight dinner. The dinner preparation becomes easier when you roast all the ingredients together in one pan. Oven roasted carrots add body and extra sweetness to the baby turnips, and oomph to the chicken. This sheet pan dinner recipe will make a delicious meal and satisfy the demands of fussy eaters. There will be no disagreements at your family table when you offer everyone’s favorite pieces of chicken along with sweet roasted vegetables.
Common does not mean plain and boring. Find inspiration in all things and gather together for a delicious family dinner. One pan! One meal! Let’s eat together and feel all right.
Enjoy!
Mediterranean Style Roast Chicken with Carrots, Turnips and Tarragon
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 4-5 lb 2k chicken, or already cut up (bone in, skin on) chicken pieces (See Note)
- 1 Tb minced garlic approximately 2-3 large cloves of garlic
- 1 1/2 tea Herbs de Provence
- 1 tea Kosher salt
- 1 Tb olive oil
- Fresh ground pepper (4-5 turns with the mill)
Vegetables
- 1 lb about 450 g baby turnips
- 1 lb about 450 g small carrots
- 8 oz about 250 g mushrooms
- 1/2 tea Kosher salt
- 4 sprigs fresh tarragon divided
- 1 Tb olive oil
Pan Gravy
- Juices from roasting chicken
- 1/2 cup 125 ml dry white wine
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup 62 - 125 ml chicken or vegetable broth (low sodium if not homemade)
Instructions
For the Chicken
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If you have a whole chicken, cut the chicken up into 8 pieces .
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You can follow the instructions on the link or just use already cut up chicken. Once the chicken is cut up spread the pieces across the cutting board.
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Sprinkle the Kosher salt evenly over the chicken pieces on both sides of the chicken.
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In a large bowl, big enough to hold all the pieces of chicken, add the minced garlic, olive oil, and Herbs de Provence, and ground pepper. Stir to combine. Add the chicken pieces to the bowl with the herbs and mix the chicken with the herb mixture until the herbs are evenly coated each piece of chicken.
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Cover the bowl with the herbed chicken with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a couple of hours up to 24 hours.
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Take the chicken out of the refrigerator 1 hour before you want to begin the cooking process. This will bring the chicken up to room temperature.
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Preheat oven to 375˚ F
Vegetables
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If you have organic turnips and carrots, examine them for bruises and dirt and determine if they need to be peeled. Peel vegetables with a vegetable peeler if needed. Cut the turnips into wedges. Cut the carrots into sections similar in length with the turnips. Cut each carrot section in half lengthwise, then cut each half into wedges similar in size to the turnips.
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Clean then cut each mushroom into quarters.
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Place all the vegetables in to a medium size bowl and mix them together.
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Strip the leaves off each tarragon sprig. Reserve the stems and divide the tarragon leaves into two piles. Take one of the piles and bunch the tarragon leaves together into a tight pile then mince with a sharp chef knife.
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Add the minced tarragon, olive oil, Kosher salt and black pepper to the bowl with the vegetables. Mix together with your clean hands until the vegetables are evenly covered with the herbs and olive oil.
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Save the other pile of tarragon leaves to add when the vegetables are done. Do not mince them until just before you add them to the vegetables.
Putting it all together.
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Put the chicken pieces on a large rimmed sheet pan, my pan is 12 1/2" x 17 1/2" (32 cm x 44 cm), then arrange the prepared vegetables around the chicken pieces. Add the tarragon stems with the vegetables.
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Put the chicken and vegetables into the pre-heated oven and bake for 40 minutes.
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If the vegetables are done before the chicken, remove the vegetables from the pan with a slotted spoon and put in a heat proof dish. Remove and discard the tarragon stems. The vegetables are done when they feel tender, but not mushy, when pierced with a fork. Mince the remaining fresh tarragon and add to the roasted vegetables.
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Cook the chicken until the juices from the chicken run clear after the chicken has been pierced with a fork. (Internal temperature of the chicken should be around 165 - 170 degrees F) When the chicken is done, take the pan with the chicken out of the oven, turn on the broiler and move the rack to the upper third portion of the oven. If you have not done so already remove the vegetables from the pan before you broil the chicken. Put the pan back in the oven to broil and crisp up the chicken skin, about 5 minutes.
Pan juices
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When the chicken is done and skin crispy, put the baking sheet across two stove burners.
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Remove the chicken from the pan and place the chicken on serving plate. Add the roasted vegetables to the platter with the chicken and cover with foil to keep warm.
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Turn on the two stove burners to medium and pour 1/2 cup of dry white wine into the pan with the juices. Deglaze the pan by scraping with a wooden spoon, the brown, caramelized goodness off the sides and bottom of the pan. The liquid and the motion of the wooden spoon against the sides will get the golden color and flavor off the sides of the pan and into the juices. Bring the liquid to a gentle boil and slightly reduce. Add the chicken stock and continue you stir the juices until they come to a slight boil. Taste your pan juices and add, more stock, or wine, or seasoning to suit your taste. Be careful not to over salt the pan juices.
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Pour the pan juices over the roasted chicken and vegetables and serve. A simple leafy green salad is a great accompaniment.
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Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
If you have never cut up a whole chicken before and are not comfortable starting it, feel free to buy chicken already cut up. It is good to have a good sharp chef knife and kitchen scissors when you cut through bone. If you do not own them buy whatever chicken parts you and your family prefer. The cooking time in this recipe is based on chicken with the bone in and skin on the meat. Sometimes already cut up chicken breasts are particularly large. If you cut chicken breasts in half across the middle they might finish cooking before the thighs and drumsticks. The video by NY Times Cooking is very instructive about how to cut up a whole chicken. I have been cutting up chickens for years and I learned new information from it.
Feeling ambitious? Make a delicious fruit gallette for dessert. You can substitute plums for nectarines, or any seasonal fruit.
© 2016 – 2018, Ginger Smith- Lemon Thyme and Ginger. All rights reserved.
