Crispy Roasted Chicken & Rapini

Who doesn’t love chicken skin? Cartman loves crispy chicken skin. The writers at our rival blog love crispy chicken skin. Everyone loves crispy chicken skin. Even vegetarians probably love it, even if they can’t admit it. It’s okay.

Tonight we made some chicken parts from Whole Foods into roasty, crispy chicken delight, without the brick recipes usually say you need. You don’t need it. Like most things we make, there is a) not a significant amount of actual recipe and b) a lot of technique and timing involved. Follow the timing. DGAF about the measurements, since we make them up most of the time anyway. Also, rapini = broccolini = broccoli rabe. Basically, asparagus-looking stalks with fluffy broccoli heads. They are delicious, but hard to find outside of pretentious grocery stores.

Roasted Chicken and Rapini (adapted from the Red Cat’s Roasted Chicken technique)

Ingredients

4 tbsp. canola oil (don’t substitute olive oil, you need the high smoke point)

2 1/2 boneless, skin-on chicken parts

Salt & Pepper

See? The ingredients are a joke. The skill is more important.

Preheat the oven to 450°. Season the chicken parts. Heat a cast iron pan over high heat until a water drop flicked onto it evaporates, and then add the canola oil. When the oil shimmers, put in the chicken skin-side down and cook 3-5 minutes until crispay. Remove from heat and put the pan in the oven for about 20 minutes. Cook it until the internal temp is 175ish.

Rapini

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp canola oil

4 garlic cloves, sliced thin

2 bunches of rapini

1/4-cup water or chicken broth

2 tbsp salted butter

Lemon

Salt, pepper, & crushed red pepper flakes

Pour oils into saute pan over medium heat and saute garlic until golden. Add rapini, tossing in the oil, add water or broth, and cover. Reduce heat and cook until liquid is almost evaporated, about 8ish minutes. Remove cover, season with salt/pepper/hot flakes, and stir in butter. Serve on top of the chicken.

PS. Esquire uses this recipe in the ‘Cooking for Men’ section, aka, how to make every woman want you. Cosmopolitan uses a dumb variation of this called ‘engagement chicken’ to get men to propose. Basically, make this chicken if you don’t want to be forever alone.

Steak, Ginger Glazed Carrots, & Crispy Baked Zucchini

An attempt to solve the bland vegetable dilemma. The carrots are soft, sweet, and a little glazey from the soy/sugar/ginger mixture, and the zucchini gets roasted on the inside but crispy and breaded on the outside. We added sliced, medium-rare top sirloin steak because we are carnivorous, but the vegetables could stand alone.

Ginger Glazed Carrots

Ingredients:

4-5 large carrots, peeled and sliced on the bias

2 tbsp. soy sauce

Grated fresh ginger root

Sugar

Preheat to 425°. Coat carrots in thin layer of soy sauce in a glass baking dish. Grate ginger root and sprinkle sugar over carrots. Bake 30-35 minutes or until carrots are softened and browned. They go well with spicy peanut sauce.

Crispy Baked Zucchini

Ingredients: 

2 large zucchini, cut into sticks

1 large egg

Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs (traditional over panko, if possible)

2-3 tbsp. grated Romano cheese (can use Parmesan if desired)

Splash of milk

Preheat oven to 425° (these can be easily cooked along with the carrots). Mix cheese and breadcrumbs on plate. Stir egg with splash of milk and dredge zucchini strips in mixture, then roll in crumb and cheese mixture. Place on greased or sprayed cookie sheet and bake uncovered 25-30 minutes. These go well with a marinara sauce.