Take advantage of yogurt’s thick texture, tenderising properties and ability to promote browning to make some tasty chicken thighs.

Time: 3/5
Would have been a 2 if I didn’t make a second batch

Effort: 2/5
The oven does most of the work

Mediterranean-Asian Fusion

I’ve been hearing good things about making use of the acidic, tenderising properties of yogurt in marinades lately. The proteins and sugars in it also contribute to the browning of whatever it coats. Not only that, its its viscosity makes it great for holding flavouring agents close to the meat – like a mayo marinade, but without as many calories.

That led me to a very successful attempt to make some absolutely delicious charcoal-grilled Chicken Tikka. In my enthusiastic pursuit of value, I got a huge tub of plain yogurt from the same Nepali grocer that I got my lentils from for the marinade. However, that left me with a lot of plain yogurt, and not enough patience for muesli and honey to get through all of it.

This happened around the same time when my SO was practicing a lot to upgrade her cheesecake game, and we got some fresh mint from the store to garnish the gorgeous desserts she had been making. The mint didn’t stay fresh for long however, and after about 2 weeks in the fridge it has long outlived its ability to make any aesthetic contributions.

I put two and two together. If I could use yogurt to marinade and grill chicken with Indian spices, why not marinade and roast chicken with Mediterranean herbs? Using mint in a savoury context sounded interesting, and it was as good an excuse as any to bring out the oven during winter. Guy gotta eat, might as well warm the house up while he cooks.

The results were pleasing to both the eye and the palate. As expected, the chicken browned beautifully in the oven with the help of the light coating of yogurt, and the mint kept things different enough that we didn’t mind having chicken the second week in a row.

I never knew I would one day find a way to fit rice and mint in the same bowl, but hey – you only live once.

PS: If you’re interested in chicken that is even lower effort, check out what happened when I simply marinated chicken thighs in store bought barbecue sauce and stuck it in the oven. Also check out the Honey Miso Thighs for another easy chicken and rice meal prep that lets you lean on the oven for some hands-off cooking.

Dramatis Personae

Chicken – 100-200g pax

Boneless, skin on thighs have always been, and will likely continue to be, my favourite cut of chicken to meal prep with. The cost and ease of preparation is hard to beat, and the extra fat content makes it so forgiving compared to white meat. It’s very hard to overcook thighs, and it stays juicy after reheating Thighs give me the confidence to shove them in the oven, then set and forget while I go deal with something else.

Marinade – Just enough to lightly coat the chicken, maybe half a teaspoon pax

Plain, unsweetened yogurt has become one of my new favourite ingredients. I much prefer adding sugar or honey to my own liking over commercially available preparations which are almost always too sweet. In savoury applications, it works well as a low calorie substitute for mayonnaise – I’ve had several successes with it in tuna salad, and sauces for wraps and sandwiches. And of course, as a marinade, which I’m about to do.

I used finely minced fresh garlic because I prefer the sharper, stronger taste and because I’m going to be using minced garlic when I cook my vegetables anyway. Garlic powder would definitely work, if you prefer the more subtle, earthy and umami notes it has and/or you don’t want to go through the hassle of peeling and mincing fresh garlic.

Joining the marinade are some mint leaves long past their pretty days, along with salt and pepper to taste. Mint in savoury dishes was surprisingly good and I’m looking forward to experimenting in this area more. Maybe in some lamb sauce.

Vegetables

Always eat your veggies! As usual, I just got whatever was on sale at the market and that happened to be lettuce. Stay tuned for a method to speed up the process of separating the leaves for ease of washing, just to make sure there isn’t any dirt or extra little protein surprises in there.

Executive summary

1. Marinade chicken the night before cooking.
2. Preheat oven. Make rice.
3. Lay chicken out on foil- and baking paper-lined sheet pans. Bake at 180C/360F for about 20 minutes, flipping halfway.
4. Wash and cook vegetables.
5. Assemble and serve.

Play by Play

Marinating the chicken right in the bag it comes in. Doesn’t make for the prettiest photos, but I’m not going to dirty my hands and a bowl if I can help it. I’m doing it the night before because it does taste better this way, but this could theoretically happen right before the chicken goes into the oven.

Laying out the chicken on a baking sheet, all in one level and with gaps in between to avoid overcrowding. I’m beginning with the skin side down because I want both sides to get some dry heat, and I want to flip and finish with the skin side up so it can crisp up. I might just be too paranoid about the skin burning, so in the future I might experiment with just leaving the skin side up all the way.

Kind of pre-heating the second batch while the first is in the oven. Once one pan is done I do a switcheroo; this can be repeated ad infinitum for however many batches you have. I’ll be eating the first batch for dinner while the second batch roasts. By the time I get the dishes done the second batch would be ready for dividing up for future meals.

Here’s how to expedite lettuce dismemberment. The leaves are attached to a central core, and by making a cut at the bottom you can loosen a lot of the leaves. The ones that don’t come loose will come off easily with a bit of pressure. The other cut higher up is just to chop the leaves down to a more manageable size. I proceed to stir fry them with garlic and a bit of oil – nothing to see there, let’s move on to the more exciting things.

Oh hello there, sexy. Check out how the skin has gotten bubbly in the oven, and how the sugars in the yogurt has helped create browning. This is going to be some mighty delicious chicken.

Doesn’t feel like a meal without some rice. I guess you could call this a Mediterranean-fusion rice bowl.

Keep browsing by categories, or by tags: