Turn every day ingredients into something special! The chicken does not need to be marinated because this recipe makes a wonderful sauce, but if you do then it will be even more tasty. I like to par boil the potatoes because I really love how it sucks up the flavour of the Italian Dressing. But you can skip this step if you prefer to cook it all in the oven - refer to Note 4 for steps.
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time45 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr
Course: Baked
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 4-5
Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Ingredients
4 - 5chicken thigh fillets, skin on and bone in (about 6oz/200g each)
1/2tbspolive oil
1 tin (14oz/400g) crushed tomatoes
1 1/2cupscherry tomatos
3 (around 1.5lb/ 750g in total)medium size potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size pieces
1/2cupmozzarella cheese, grated (or any other good melting cheese)
Boil or microwave the potatoes until slightly undercooked - about 5 minutes boiling / 5 minutes on high in a steamer in the microwave. Use a fork to rough the potatoes up a bit - this allows the potatoes to absorb more of the dressing flavour - and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat 1/2 tbsp olive oil in large oven proof skillet over high heat.
Add chicken and brown well on both sides - around 5 minutes each side.
Remove skillet from heat, and pour off the excess fat.
Place potatoes around the chicken and pour over the crushed tomatoes. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and drizzle the Italian Dressing all over.
Place cherry tomatoes on top and bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
Remove from oven and sprinkle on cheese, then bake for a further 5 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden.
Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with basil leaves if you wish.
Notes
1. I like to make this recipe with chicken thigh fillets with the skin on because I love the golden brown colour of the skin. But you can use skinless fillets if you wish. This recipe is also great made with other cuts of chicken, like drumsticks and even chicken breast (preferably bone in, skin on!). 2. You can substitute the white wine or red wine vinegar with any other vinegar - ordinary white vinegar, balsamic, sherry vinegar etc. Lemon juice would also be an adequate substitute.3. If you want to marinate the chicken, mix up the dressing and put it in a ziplock bag with the chicken and marinate it for up to 24 hours. Then follow the instructions of the recipe, using the marinade in the ziplock bag.4. To cook entirely in oven: I like to par boil the potatoes because when it is roughed up, they suck up the Italian Dressing. However, this can be cooked entirely in the oven i.e. without par boiling the potatoes. To do this, just brown the skin of the chicken lightly, then follow the recipe to place the raw potatoes, cherry tomatoes and pour over the Italian Dressing. Then bake for 45 - 50 minutes, or until chicken and potatoes are cooked through. Top with cheese and bake for 5 minutes until melted.