Crispy Chicken & Cauli
did i say butter?
Vegetarian
We are currently a family of 4, so this recipe assumes 1 chicken thigh for me, 1 for each of my kids and 2 for my husband, because that's usually how we eat. I believe wherever possible, in buying local, happy animals that have been slaughtered humanely. Local + organic is the dream, but if I can't get both, I will always shop local over organic.
Ingredients
5 local and/or organic chicken thighs-bone in- skin on.
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
Salt
Pepper
1/2 large head of cauliflower
2 tbsp oil: sesame, olive, canola or peanut. any will work, and they all give a slightly different flavor. don't over think it.
3 cloves garlic
2 tbsp soy sauce
Tools
-a 10 or 12 inch cast iron pan
-another medium size frying pan, doesn't need to be cast iron
-the baking tray from your toaster oven, lined with foil.
1. Heat toaster oven to 400F
2. Rinse chicken thighs in cold water and pat dry. Sprinkle non-skin and skin sides with salt and pepper.
3. Heat cast iron skillet on high, and place 2 tbsp of butter. Reduce heat to med-high. Still very hot, but you don't want the butter to burn, just to start to bubble.
4. Place 2 or 3 chicken thighs in the pan skin side down in the butter. If it doesn't really start to sizzle when you place it down, the pan isn't hot enough and you might have to fiddle with the burner. Keep the chicken skin side down until it starts to get really crispy.
know thy self: I'm terrible at waiting for things to cook. Only recently did I discover that you don't have to cook everything on high heat, and the art of low and slow. So I do other tasks while I'm cooking. I will begin to clean up my space, or work on a side while I'm waiting for the skin to get crispy on this chicken. However, this is a careful balance, if I fall too far into a secondary task, I forget all about the chicken and burn it. The struggle is real!
5. Once the skin on the chicken is crispy, transfer it to the baking sheet with the foil, skin side up. Allow to bake in the toaster oven for 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked.
6. Add 2 more tablespoons of butter to the pan and repeat steps 4 and 5 with remaining chicken thighs.
7. Chop up your cauliflower into tiny florets. You can also chop the stocks up into bits. These do not need to be tossed, just cut small and cooked the same as the florets. Also chop up your garlic.
8. Get your second pan on medium -high heat with the oil you have. Add the garlic to the oil. Throw in the chopped up cauliflower.
9. Turn down to medium heat and allow to cook until tender. This usually takes about 10 minutes. You should be able to easily insert a fork into the cauliflower to test. If its hard to jab it in, then it needs more time. If its super easy, you might have over cooked it but its still good.
10. When your cauliflower seems close to being done, toss in the soy sauce.
11. plate your chicken thighs and cauliflower as shown in this photo.
Yum!