Donal Skehan: Home Cook airs Wednesdays at 8.30pm on RTÉ One.
Ingredients
Serves: 4–6
Prep time: 20 minutes, plus chilling
Cook time: 3 1⁄2 hours
- 8 whole chicken legs
- 2 sprigs of rosemary,
- needles stripped
- 5 sprigs of thyme, leaves stripped
- Pared zest of 1 lemon
- 20 garlic cloves (about 2
- whole bulbs)
- 12 small shallots, peeled
- 6 baby leeks, trimmed
- 1 litre extra virgin olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground
- black pepper
For the hasselback potatoes
- 800g (1lb 12oz) small/medium
- Desiree or Rooster potatoes
- or other red skinned potatoes
- 2 tbsp olive oil (use leftover confit oil for these)
- Flaky sea salt
For the bitter leaf salad
- 2 heads of chicory (endive), leaves separated
- 1 frisée lettuce, roughly torn
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 3 tbsp of the reserved confit oil
Method
- Place the chicken legs in a large ovenproof dish, sprinkle over the rosemary and thyme leaves, lemon zest, garlic cloves and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper. Massage into the legs then cover and chill overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 150°C/130°C fan/300°F/Gas 2. Bring the chicken out of the fridge and turn all the legs so they are skin side up in the dish. Nestle the shallots and leeks in and around them, then pour over the extra virgin olive oil, making sure everything is well covered.
- Place in the oven and cook, uncovered, for 2–2 1⁄2 hours, or until the chicken is almost falling off the bone. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the oil, preferably overnight. Once the oil is cooled completely strain into a resealable jar and keep in the fridge for other uses.
- Prepare your potatoes: cut small slits all the way along the length of your spuds, but not all the way through, then massage all over with oil from the confit chicken, place in a roasting tray and scatter with plenty of flaky sea salt and some black pepper.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/Gas 4. Roast the potatoes for 40 minutes, then increase the heat to 220°C/200°C fan/425°F/ Gas 7.
- Put the chicken, onions and leeks onto a roasting tray. Place the chicken into the oven with the potatoes for the remaining 20 minutes. Roast until the chicken skin is crispy and golden and the potatoes golden and tender.
- While the chicken and potatoes finish cooking in the oven prepare the bitter leaf salad. Add the leaves to a bowl. Whisk together the white wine vinegar and reserved confit oil and salt and pepper. Drizzle over the leaves and toss to combine.
