Greek-ish Sheet Pan Chicken
And her friend Jimmy Nardello
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After sharing Caroline Chamber’s sheet pan dinner with you last week, I thought I’d share one of my own that I was inspired to create this week. I am still trying to squeeze in those last bits of summery food and can't help picking up another pint of cherry tomatoes or a few peppers since they are still so abundant. Part of me is in the mood for all the fall things, but the corn and tomatoes keep staring me in the face and I know I am going to miss them when they’re gone.
A few nights ago, a friend texted to say that he had just caught a big bluefish, and were we interested in a filet? I said, “Sure I’m interested!”. I mean, how can you say no to any just-caught fish delivered to your door? It was pretty close to dinnertime and I hadn’t made any other plans yet, so I started to think of what would go nicely with the fish. I was thinking about using some of that green sauce I had left over from Caroline’s recipe along with some Sun Gold confit I had made with some tomatoes that were going soft. But then he stopped texting, and now it was getting really close to dinnertime, and I was hungry, so I started thinking about Plan B.
I had just bought some peppers that looked interesting at a farmstand that were labeled “Holy Mole Peppers”. Somehow, I don’t think this is a botanical name, but they looked interesting so I was curious to try them, unsure of exactly how I would use them. The sign said, “Nutty, not overly spicy”. OK. I had also just stocked up on some meats at the grocery store so I could have a few dinners at my fingertips, and chicken thighs were among them. I started thinking about roasting the chicken thighs on a sheet pan with those peppers and I wasn’t sure what else.
Meanwhile, my friend texted back, saying he was coming with the fish, so that’s what we had, and it was delicious. But now I had a bee in my bonnet about this sheet pan dinner, and it was going to be the next night’s dinner. The recipe kind of morphed into this “Baked Greek Salad” idea I had been playing with but wasn’t quite working yet. Somehow adding chicken to it brought it together. I had some Jimmy Nardello peppers in the fridge already, and I stopped at my closest farmstand to get a pint of little tomatoes. I love these “Matt’s wild cherry tomatoes”, and they are still around. This is a great tomato to look out for, or even grow yourself next year! That said, ANY cherry or grape tomato can be used here.
This recipe is simple and has a short ingredient list. It only uses one pan, but you do have to add ingredients in stages. That’s OK though, because while each stage is cooking, you can prep the next, making this very fast to get going, and the whole thing is done in under an hour. The one drawback to sheet pan recipes is that sometimes it can be hard to keep everything from steaming. It’s hard to predict how much moisture is going to be in your particular vegetables, or how big they are, which determines how crowded the pan is going to be. Adding things in stages helps a lot with that, but using the convection setting on your oven, if you have one, is really helpful too. That will ensure that everything browns nicely without steaming. If you notice that things are getting TOO brown, just go back to the regular bake setting once you start seeing things getting brown. If you don’t have convection, it’s OK too. It works just fine in a regular oven, just take care not to overcrowd the pan.
Anyway, what I really want to tell you about this recipe is that it is SUPER DELICIOUS, and it makes its own sauce on the sheet pan when you add the tomatoes and feta, bringing all the flavors together. If it dries out too much towards the end of cooking, just add a little water to the pan to deglaze, and there’s your sauce again. It’s absolutely yummy and kind of amazing that so few ingredients can add up to this much FLAVOR. We had it over couscous, but orzo would be great too. You definitely need something to soak up all that goodness.
P.S. The Holy Mole peppers were not spicy at all but did have a nice nutty flavor. Apparently, they are a hybrid similar to a Pasilla, and are supposed to have some heat, which these didn’t. You can sub these specialty peppers with any sweet pepper, but if you visit a farmer’s market, keep your eyes peeled for Jimmy Nardellos! They're delicious and not as fleshy as a bell pepper, which I really like.
I’m going to be taking off next week from the newsletter. I need to catch up on my book work, and I hope you understand. In the meantime, I’ll be cooking up something delicious to share with you in two weeks
Sunday’s post for paid subscribers only has a gorgeous Pinkalicious Pasta made with a beautiful, easy, and tasty kale and beet pesto
PS - I wanted to remind you that all of the recipes in my newsletters live permanently here. You can also scroll through public recipes on my site or keep up with me on Instagram. Or better yet, you can support me by ordering my book, Open Kitchen.
Greek-ish Sheet Pan Chicken
Click here for a printable version
Serves 4
If you prefer white meat, use two large whole breasts, and cut them in half after cooking to serve. They will be juicier that way. Any kind of sweet pepper or cherry tomato can be used here in place of the Holy Mole and Jimmy Nardello peppers and the Matt’s Wild Cherry tomatoes. Mild poblanos would also be good here.
For the chicken:
4 chicken thighs (1½ to 2 pounds)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
¾ teaspoon garlic powder (not garlic salt)
½ teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons olive oil
For the rest:
1 medium red onion, cut lengthwise into medium thin slices
12 ounces mixed peppers, such as Jimmy Nardellos and Holy Mole
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pint cherry tomatoes, left whole if small, halved if large
4 ounces feta cheese, cut into ¾-inch cubes
1/3 cup black oil-cured olives or Kalamata olives, pitted and torn in half
Cooked couscous or orzo, for serving
Heat oven to 450°F. Season the chicken with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, and olive oil. Arrange on a sheet pan, evenly spacing them and place on center rack of the oven. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes until sizzling and starting to brown. If there is a lot of fat on the pan, carefully pour it off, holding the chicken in place with tongs.
Meanwhile, prep the peppers and onions. Cut the peppers lengthwise and remove the seeds. Cut into 1-inch strips. If using long peppers like Jimmy Nardellos, cut into 3 or 4-inch lengths. Toss with remaining olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper. Add them to the pan with the chicken, arranging evenly. Change oven setting to 425°F convection if you have it.
Cook 15- 20 minutes, until peppers are browning on the edges, stirring the vegetables once. Add the tomatoes and the feta, distributing evenly, and cook 10 minutes longer, adding the olives for the last 5 minutes. There should be accumulated juices in the pan, but if not, add about ¼ cup water to deglaze. Serve the chicken and vegetables over couscous.
Note: If the vegetables start browning too much, return to 450°F if you were using convection.
Thanks!
Are the chicken thighs, boneless and skinless?