Crispy Parmesan Chicken Quarters with Roast Potatoes
These crispy parmesan and herb chicken quarters with roast potatoes are a low-effort comfort food that's nice enough for Sunday dinner but easy enough for a weeknight meal. With just 10 minutes of prep and 50 minutes in the oven you can get juicy inside, crispy outside chicken every time.
Servings 2
Calories 1367kcal
Ingredients
- 2 chicken legs with skin
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil or avocado, peanut, canola etc.
- 10 potatoes quartered
- 1 bulb garlic
- 1-2 tablespoons grated parmesan or other hard cheese
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried sumac
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt divided, plus more to taste
- 1 lemon sliced into 1cm slices
Instructions
- Parboil the potatoes. Cut the potatoes into quarters and add them to a pot of rapidly boiling salted water. Cook until fork tender - about 5 - 7 minutes. You can also cover them in water and microwave for 5 - 7 minutes or until fork tender.
- Preheat oven to 190 C / 375 F on the convection setting if you have it.
- In a small bowl combine the dried oregano, sumac, black pepper and half of the salt.
- Cut the lemon into slices and cut the garlic bulb right down the center into two mirrored halves.
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or reusable baking paper.
- Prepare the chicken quarters. Whether you wash them or not, they have to be very dry. Either don't wash them (see notes) or thoroughly pat them dry with a lint-free kitchen cloth or paper towel.
- Put the chicken on the baking sheet and drizzle one tablespoon of oil, using one hand to rub it in while the other hand sprinkles the spice mixture. After you give the chicken a good massage to loosen it up, arrange it on the baking sheet skin side up and sprinkle it with the cheese.
- Once the potatoes are fork tender, drain them well and set them aside until they stop steaming. When they stop steaming, drizzle them with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and sprinkle in the remaining salt - use a large spoon to gently turn them to coat fully in the oil.
- Arrange the potatoes, lemon slices and halved garlic bulbs alongside the chicken on the baking sheet.
- Use the remaining tablespoon of oil to drizzle over the garlic and lemon slices.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes. Serve immediately.
Notes
Recent research suggests that not washing chicken is actually the better option for reducing the spread of food borne bacteria. It's up to you what your preferred method is - personally I've stopped washing chicken which makes it simpler to get the crispy skin.
Covering the skin with too much cheese can cause the fat to not render. If you want really cheesy chicken then add more cheese about 45 minutes into baking and pop it back in the oven for the remaining time.