Crispy chicken thighs with smashed peas

It tastes better in a skillet. Courtesy of What's Gaby Cooking.

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• Best for: dinner, serves 4

• Difficulty: easy

• Time: 20 minutes, 20 minutes oven

• Recommended pairings: roasted baby potatoes

• If you like this, try... Sweet-and-sour chicken thighs with carrots

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Cumin and coriander is an amazing combination. My Dad hates cumin, but he loved this dish. I've never cooked with bone-in skin-on chicken before, but although preparing these felt slightly more medieval it wasn't more difficult at all. This dish presents impressively, with flavors perfect for spring. Pan cooking gets you a golden, crispy skin while the stint in the oven creates a magic jus for the veggies.

Ingredients

For the Chicken

6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon olive oil

Optional: additional vegetables, I used asparagus and fennel

For the Peas

1 10-ounce package frozen peas, completely thawed

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/4 cup finely grated parmigiano reggiano cheese

1 lemon, juiced and sliced

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

fresh dill and fresh mint leaves, optional

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First...

Preheat oven to 400°F

Season the chicken thighs on both sides with salt, pepper, cumin and coriander.

Heat the oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat.

Add the chicken, skin side down, and cook until the fat has rendered and the skin is crisp and golden brown, about 8 minutes.

Flip the chicken to the other side and scatter the lemon slices on top. Nestle in additional veggies if using.

Then..

Transfer to the oven and roast 18 to 20 minutes.

MEANWHILE...

While the chicken is roasting, make the smashed peas.

Transfer the garlic to a medium bowl and add the pecorino, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, salt, and plenty of black pepper, and stir to combine.

Add the thawed peas and stir to combine.

Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.

Use the back of a fork and just roughly mash half of the peas so they are a little more chunky and leave the other half whole.

Finally...

Remove the chicken from the oven, add the peas into the ovenproof skillet, basically nesting the chicken thighs into the peas and coating the peas with the chicken renderings and top with herbs and extra lemon, salt and pepper.