Happy Monday to you! I have about 8 minutes to complete this post and than head on to a client call so bear with me for the quick and simple low down on how to make tender chicken legs with little to no effort. Slow roasting food, all be it takes some patience, but it is definitely one of my favorite things to do. Now don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of the bbq, the broiler and of course pan searing – but there is something about the slow roasting technique that really gets me cranked up.
The smell fills the room, people around you get happy and the reward at the end of the wait is well…. worth it! Last Sunday I had some chicken legs thawing on the counter without a whole lot of ideas bouncing thru my head as to how I was going to prepare them. A coated potato chip crust, went thru my head and left. A simple dry roast with some herbs came and left and then I realized that I had some curry paste left in the fridge.
Curry and mustard with some dried oregano and lemon zest was screaming my name. I ran to the fridge – well probably just walked quickly and gathered my lemon, the curry paste and mustard. Quickly turned the corner and grabbed the oregano and I was set. Ripped down a roasting pan, grabbed a bowl and open the chicken legs like someone with a fluffy tail was chasing me.
I had this concoction ready to go before I even preheated the oven. Oh so easy… Oh so good. As it was just finishing up, I tossed in some cous cous and threw in a little chopped spinach and lemon to compliment the chicken and let it cook. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Toss it with a fork and garnish with some green onion.
I will be honest here, as I pretty much always am…. I don’t like cous cous but Mrs. Zesty loved it. Needless to say she had the left overs.
Ingredients
- 8-10 Chicken drumsticks
- 2 Tbsp. Curry paste
- 1 Tbsp. Mustard
- Splash of soy sauce
- 1 Tsp. Dried oregano
- 1/4 Cup water
- zest of a lemon
- juice of a lemon
- Cracked black pepper
- 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 Onion, peeled and chopped
Method
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
- Assemble chicken in roasting pan, add carrots and onions
- In a bowl mix together remaining ingredients and toss over chicken and vegetables
- Cook uncovered for about 90 minutes, allowing the sauce to thicken and the chicken to caramelize.
- Remove from heat and serve with your favorite side dish.
- ENJOY!
Zesty Tip: If you find the sauce too thick just add a little water before tossing it in with the chicken. You want the sauce to pour easily. Be sure to baste the chicken during cooking maybe 2-3 times.
Alright, so let’s rock the last week of September out and enjoy the weather. I will be back mid-week for something else to eat.
Take care
zesty
