Chicken with Potatoes and Romesco Sauce
This is paella!
It has been a few weeks since I have posted a Mark Bittman Recipe, but this week I am hosting The Food Matters Project so I have to honor to pick the recipe and post it in it’s entirety. It’s a challenge to choose a recipe when you have 500 to select from, but the choice became clear when narrowed down to Spanish cuisine. Since I’m in Spain now, it just had to be Spanish. My husband is from Spain, and he has a summer program here. I’m the lucky duck who gets to come along with him (apart from the program), to enjoy seeing friends and family. This year, as in other years, I enrolled in great yoga class, enjoyed making rounds to the tapa bars, went to a village celebration hosted by some friends, had a week-end blast in Barcelona, and visited numerous sites in and around the town of León, in the Northwest.
Tapas and Montaditos at Cervercería Catalana
There’s nothing new about oven-roasted chicken, but Romesco sauce may be new to you. The sauce originates in the area of Tarragona, Cataluña, in the northeast of the country. The ingredients are fresh tomato, roasted bell pepper, ground raw or roasted almonds, garlic, and olive oil. It makes a great companion to roast chicken, beef, pork, grilled tofu, fish, or vegetables. The following recipe for roast potatoes with chicken and romesco is courtesy Mark Bittman; I did not follow the recipe exactly, as I fried the potatoes aside. I know what you’re thinking—fried potatoes are not a healthy food. Learning how to eat healthy doesn’t mean you can’t ever eat some of foods that aren’t good for you. Unless you are on a very strict diet for your health, you can take pleasure in a few “forbidden foods,” as long as it’s a small amount and you don’t do it often.
Mercado de León
*I did not follow the recipe exactly as I cooked the potatoes separately and I omitted the parsley from the Romesco sauce.
Servings: 4
Time: 1 hour, largely unattended
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons olive oil, or more as needed
1-1/2 pounds new potatoes or other small potatoes, halved
Salt and black pepper
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
4 bone-in chicken thighs; or 2 bone-in chicken breasts, each cut in half
1/2 cup almonds
1 large red bell pepper, roughly chopped
1 large or 2 medium ripe tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, or to taste
1 packed cup fresh parsley
2 tablespoons sherry or white wine vinegar (I recommend starting with less vinegar and adding to taste)
Procedure:
1. Heat the oven to 400° F. Drizzle the bottom of a shallow roasting pan or a rimmed baking sheet with 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the potatoes, toss to coat with the oil, spread in a single layer, and sprinkly with salt and pepper. Roast, undisturbed, until they’re just beginning to sizzle, about 10 minutes.
2. Top the potatoes first with the rosemary, then the chicken pieces, all skin side up. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and drizzle with 2 more tablespoons of the oil. Roast for about 15 minutes, then baste the chicken with the pan drippings and rotate the pan. If necessary, adjust the oven temperature so the chicken and the potatoes brown but do not burn. Chicken breasts will be done in 15 or 20 minutes, thighs in 25 or 30.
3. Meanwhile, combine the almonds, bell pepper, tomato, garlic, parsley and vinegar in a food processor or blender. With the machine running, slowly add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil; pruée into a thick paste, adding more oil of necessary to keep the machine running and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Season with salt and pepper.
4. The chicken and potatoes are done when the potatoes are tender and release easily from the pan and the chicken is opaque and the juices run clear. Serve each piece of chicken with a spoonful of the potatoes, a little of the pan juices, and a dollop of romesco.
Resources:
This recipe is also posted at Slightly Indulgent Tuesday and Pennywise Platter
Oh that’s a great one!
Monica recently posted..Wheatgrass Juicer co
That looks really delicious. The photographs are also great.
Agree with you. Occasionally trying out the forbidden foods don’t harm. I follow the same rule.
Minnie(@thelady8home) recently posted..Easy Pulled Pork in Crock Pot recipe
That paella is making me drool! I spent a semester in Sevilla in college and miss Spain all the time, especially the food and drink. A very fitting pick for this week!
Meg recently posted..The Food Matters Project: Roast potatoes and chicken with romesco
[...] Potatoes with Chicken and Romesco was this weeks’ Food Matters Project challenge, chosen by Mireya of My Healthy Eating Habits. It was an appropriate choice since she is living in Spain right now! You can check the other FMP [...]
[...] oil, and garlic. This recipe was inspired from the Food Matters Project series and was chosen by My Healthy Eating Habits. The original recipe that was chosen was Roast Potatoes with Chicken and Romesco sauce. Because [...]
Love your choice this week. You took me back to last summer when we were in Spain. Love that place.
Lexi recently posted..CHARD AND POTATO SPANISH TORTILLA WITH ROMESCO SAUCE
Mireya, thanks for picking a delicious recipe! I have never heard of romesco sauce before and am now hooked! Keep having fun in Spain and eat lots of paella… Man that huge wok looks wonderful!
P.S. I had French fries this weekend too and enjoyed every bite of it!
Margarita recently posted..Roast Potatoes and Chicken with Romesco
Great choice! I am beyond jealous that you are in Spain though – that is fantastic!!
Alyssa (Everyday Maven) recently posted..The Food Matters Project: Baked Salmon with Romesco Sauce
[...] this week’s full recipe, be sure to visit Mireya at My Healthy Eating Habits & don’t forget to check out all the other mouth watering takes on this week’s [...]
Mireya, great pick this week! I have loved Romesco since 2004, the first time I made it. It was fun looking through some of your blog posts–what a fantastic experience for you!
I would love to know more about this ‘The Food Matters Project’. How does it helps the community or society. Can others also contribute to it? I just checked the site there are some really fantastic recipes, but I would like to know the motive behind this project!
Molly Groman recently posted..Are you a dog or a cat person?
Hi Molly,
The FMP is called a project, but what it is in essence is a group a bloggers who each week blog about a particular recipe which the host of the week has chosen for everyone in the group to make. The recipe comes from Mark Bittman’s book, “The Food Matters Cookbook.” Mark is a food writer and editor at the New York Times. The premise of the book is that if more people would cut down on meat, by just eating it in one meal per day, it would be better for the health of the individual, better for the nation as there would be less cost on the society, and better for the world as there would be less greenhouse gas emmisions. If you’d like to participate in the group, the best way to go about it is to contact Sarah, or Lexi at Facebook.com/thefoodmattersproject
I hope this helps. Hope to see you around
Have a wonderful time in Spain! I loved it there when I studied abroad in Sevilla! Great choice for food- I’ve never had this sauce before, so I’m glad I got to try something different!
Evi recently posted..Food Matters Project #23: Chicken & Potatoes with Romesco Sauce
[...] and the presentation creates the mirage you’ve been in the kitchen all day. Mireya of My Healthy Eating Habits is this week’s [...]
Lovely recipe; love Mark Bittman. My 25-year-old daughter cooks from his books often. Would enjoy participating in this group, though will probably have to wait until my book is finished:( Hope there’s still room come fall. Happy Weekend!
Alyce Morgan recently posted..38 Power Foods, Week 8 — Carrots — On the Loose