Roasted chicken and zucchini noodles

A fast and fresh one-pot meal!

I’m not sure whether I love this dish so much because of its fantastic flavour, or because of how easy it is to prepare. We love it ‘as is’ but if you’re craving a more carb-loaded meal, you could also serve the vegetables and chicken on top of brown rice or mashed sweet potatoes. I like to use an inexpensive spiralizer to create zucchini noodles but you could also use a vegetable peeler to create long ribbons, or coarsely grate the zucchini instead. If you’re a fan of zucchini noodles, you might also enjoy this vegan-friendly dish.

Ingredients

• 8 cups (650 g) loosely packed zucchini noodles (from about 1 1/2 pounds or 680 g zucchini)
• 2 teaspoons (12 g) kosher salt, divided
• 1 teaspoon (2.3 g) freshly ground black pepper
• 4 large bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 6.5 oz / 185 g each)
• 2 teaspoons (10 mL) olive oil
• 2 cups (105 g) sliced sweet onion
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1/2 fresh lemon
• 1 tablespoon (2.7 g) fresh thyme leaves plus more for garnish

Method

• Preheat oven to 450F. Place prepared zucchini in a colander; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the salt and toss to combine. Let sit for at least 10 minutes or up to an hour.
• Sprinkle both sides of chicken thighs with pepper and remaining salt.  
• Heat oil in a heavy duty, 10 or 12 inch (25 or 30 cm) ovenproof skillet placed over medium heat.  When oil is sizzling hot (carefully add a drop of water to see if it sizzles), swirl the pan to distribute the oil evenly then carefully place the chicken pieces in the pan, skin side down.
• Fry the chicken until the skin is browned and crisp, about 10 minutes, but don’t disturb the chicken for at least 8 minutes. Flip chicken pieces over and cook an additional 5 minutes. Transfer par-cooked chicken to a clean plate and set aside.
• Put onion, garlic and thyme in the same skillet and sauté them over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened (about 5-6 minutes).
• Transfer zucchini to a clean kitchen towel (or several layers of paper towel); roll up and gently squeeze to remove excess moisture. Add zucchini to onion mixture in pan; toss with tongs or two forks to combine. Nestle chicken into zucchini mixture. Place pan in preheated oven; cook until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of chicken registers 165F, 13 to 15 minutes.
• Divide vegetables and chicken among four serving plates then squeeze lemon over top and spoon any accumulated juices from the pan over each plate. Garnish with additional fresh thyme leaves, if desired.

Serves 4.

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