Chicken thighs are such a brilliant thing to cook as they are very versatile, cheap to buy and have a great flavour I love cooking them slowly on a low heat in a fan oven so that the chicken is so tender and almost falling off the bone and the skin is delicious and crispy!
When buying chicken sometimes labelling and packaging can be confusing, like most foods ideally we want to eat it as close to its natural form as possible. Personally as a general rule, if I am buying chicken from a supermarket, I would always buy organic where possible, as organic standards help lower the risk of contaminated feed, so this should mean higher nutrient content and less chance of it being fed a diet of antibiotics. However please bear in mind that organic does not necessarily mean a ‘happy chicken’ free to stretch it’s legs and unless it states otherwise, the poor chick might not even know the meaning of fresh air. If you are in a position to do so I think the best way to buy a chicken is from a reputable butcher, where you can ask questions about their suppliers, sometimes they have great local farms that supply them and although they have not gone through the process to be labelled ‘organic’ their chickens are well looked after, free range and fed a good healthy diet. Don’t be afraid to ask your butcher or even supermarket about their suppliers, we do after all have a right to know what we are putting in our mouth.
Beware also when buying eggs and liver, it is vitally important that these are well sourced. Liver and eggs are wonderfully nutritious but will be heavily effected by the chicken’s diet and well being.
Chicken not only tastes delicious but is a brilliant source of protein, high in important B vitamins much needed for energy and neurotransmitter support and it has good amounts of selenium a crucial co factor for thyroid & fertility.
The combination of flavours in this recipe is fantastic, lightly spiced and smokey with the soft roasted garlic oozing out of its skin. The garlic is a great immune boaster and good for the heart and the tumeric is a wonderful anti-inflammatory a good thing to add to cooking as much as possible!
You could either serve this with a selection of vegetables or with some brown rice, mashed potato or quinoa it is incredibly versatile.
Enjoy!
- 1 dsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ¼ tsp coconut sugar or alternative of choice
- 2.5 tbsp squeezed lemon
- 8 organic chicken thighs with skin on
- 1 Onion
- 10 garlic cloves
- 2tbsp olive oil
- Maldon sea salt
- Black pepper
- For serving:
- Pomegranate seeds
- Coriander leaves
- Preheat fan oven to 140oc
- Cut the onion into 8 pieces and spread over baking tray or large oven proof dish
- Add the garlic cloves with their skin on.
- Next put the paprika, chilli flakes, turmeric, coconut sugar, lemon & olive oil in a small bowl with a good pinch of salt and black pepper and mix together.
- Coat each piece of chicken in the marinade using a pastry brush, then place chicken skin side up on top of onion and garlic in roasting tin.
- Put the chicken in the oven and allow to slow cook for 1.30 hrs
- Keep an eye on it to check it doesn’t burn ideally you want the skin to have crisped up and the rest to be tender and coming away from the bone.
- When ready remove from oven, sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and coriander and serve
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