Oh. My. Goodness. This recipe might be the best thing I have ever tried! This is definitely an "impress the parents" kind of meal. I am not sure if I have ever described a meal using those terms on the blog, but it is an expression I use to describe a meal that is not only delicious, but also beautiful and a total crowd pleaser. I am going to use "impress the parents" as a tag now, so you can browse on here for other meals that I deem worthy of that title. The original recipe is here at Eating European. She has a ton of amazing recipes to try, so check her out!
So, I think the main thing that attracted me to this recipe, (besides the incredible photos the original author captured) is the chicken and potatoes. We love chicken thighs in our house - especially when you can get the skin nice and crispy! My husband is also a huge potato guy so I figured it was a sure-win. And of course cheese, am I right? What else do you really need?
The first thing to do is prep. Cut up the potatoes and measure everything out in cute little containers, like you are on a cooking show. Just kidding! You don't have to do the cute container part. Once the potatoes are cut up, you are going to boil them for about 15 minutes. It really made them tender and helped them to soak up the sauce later. That was Mitchell's (my hubby) favorite part!
Another crucial part of this recipe is to brown the chicken thighs. This helps the flavor of the chicken and also helps to get that skin nice and crispy! I know it's not the most heart healthy thing, but I don't really know if there is anything more delightful on chicken then a little thigh skin. I have heard if you are someone who has butchered chickens that you may think differently, but I never have, so c'est la vie.
The rest of the recipe is pretty simple. There were a few changes I had made from the original recipe, mostly of convenience! I have refrigerated minced garlic in the fridge, the original author minced her own. She also mentioned the kind of potato could be interchanged with red potatoes. I personally love a good Yukon gold potato, and it is what I already had on hand. I used smoked paprika, again, because it is what I already had. The original recipe calls for sweet paprika. My palette is not super refined so I am not sure I would have been able to tell the difference. The last thing I changed, is I recommend dumping all of the grease out after browning the chicken. The original recipe calls for a tablespoon of the grease to be left in, but I didn't really think it was necessary.
We definitely enjoyed this meal, and I hope you do, too! Mitch said "We can make this again!" so I think it is going to be added to the rotation. Let me know how yours turns out and if you made any additions or substitutions to make it your own (tag me in your Instagram photos @thesunnylifeofbee)!
Tuscan Chicken & Potatoes
Ingredients
5-6 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin on
2 cups Yukon gold potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil for frying
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, cut into strips
2 cups fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 slices bacon, cooked & chopped
Salt & pepper to taste
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Cooking spray
Fresh parsley for garnish
Recipe
Preheat your oven to 400 F. Wash & cut up potatoes in 1-inch (ish) chunks.
In a large pot, bring a water to boil. Add a pinch of salt and add cut up potatoes; cook them for approximately 15 minutes, then drain and set aside.
Heat up cooking oil in a cast iron skillet. Season chicken on both sides with salt, pepper and paprika. Add chicken to the skillet and cook on each side until browned (3-4 minutes). Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside.
Discard all of the grease from the skillet, but don't wipe it out. Return skillet to stove and add garlic. Cook for about a minute and then pour in the heavy cream. Let the cream cook for a couple of minutes until thickened up, stirring often to avoid burning (about 5 minutes). Then add spinach and sun dried tomatoes and mix well. Turn off the heat.
Add Parmesan cheese and mix until melted. Add salt and pepper as needed.
Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray.
Add potatoes to the casserole dish, pour the sauce over the potatoes and place chicken on top of it.
Bake for 40-45 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and internal thermometer shows 165F.
While your chicken and potatoes are baking, add cut up bacon to a clean skillet and cook until golden brown and crispy. Maybe cook and extra piece as an appetizer, because you earned it! Once the chicken and potatoes are cooked, remove casserole dish from the oven, sprinkle with bacon and parsley and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Pro-tip:
Chop up the sun-dried tomatoes. I bought some that were julienned and they were still a bit too big. Make them smaller. They are intense. Trust me!
Don't take pictures of raw chicken, it's super gross. I regret it.
