Gill Meller’s Baked Chicken Thighs with New Potatoes, Wild Garlic and Lemon

Cooking a fresh pizza in an Ooni is one of chef, food writer and teacher Gill Meller's favourite pastimes. He also knows that it’s good to mix it up every so often. As an outdoor enthusiast based in Dorset, and author of “Outside: Cooking Outdoors - Recipes for the Wild,” it only makes sense that Gill has a show-stopping recipe for an all-in-one tray recipe for roast chicken thighs and new potatoes.

Cooking at quite a low heat is the secret to making the chicken in this recipe extra tender. After the initial cook, Gill likes to crank up the heat, so everything’s golden and crisped around the edges when it comes out of the oven. Gill is committed to taking inspiration from his surroundings, so he uses wild garlic, a springtime herb that grows around the edges of woodland and along shady river banks. Not to worry, though, if you don’t live anywhere near the wild garlic, using bulb garlic and lots of parsley will be equally tasty.

Gill Meller’s Baked Chicken Thighs with New Potatoes, Wild Garlic and Lemon

Note

Gill recommends using wood or charcoal for this dish for added flavour. There might be moments when the flames build up, and it’s at these points you need to pay attention to the chicken so it doesn’t catch. If you’re worried, you can loosely foil the tray for part of the cook time.

1. Take the chicken out of the fridge 2 hours before cooking to allow it to get close to room temperature.

2. Light your oven with good quality lumpwood charcoal and a natural firelighter.

Initially, you’re looking for a relatively low heat, so aim for around 175 °C (350 °F) on your baking stone. You can check this quickly, accurately, and safely with an infrared thermometer.

One hand sprinkling fennel seeds over uncooked chicken thighs, new potatoes, wild garlic, bay leaves and lemon in a roasting pan, the other hand holding a small jar of fennel seeds.

3. While the oven’s getting up to temperature, arrange the chicken pieces, skin side up, in a large roasting tray.

Scatter the potatoes around the chicken and trickle over the olive oil. Slice the lemon into ¼-inch (½-centimetre) rounds and arrange these randomly around the chicken. Sprinkle over the fennel seeds and chilli flakes and add in the bay leaves. Season everything with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

4. Set the chicken in the middle of the oven and bake, turning the tray occasionally with your oven gloves on and giving the potatoes a turn to ensure they are getting evenly cooked, for 40 to 45 minutes.

It’s crucial you monitor the heat during this first stage. A nice gentle cook is what you’re after here. Big rolling flames are not on the agenda.

5. After 40 to 45 minutes, take the tray of chicken out of the oven and give the potatoes a little turn with a spatula.

Raise the heat of the oven to about 220 °C (430 °F). But again, avoid any fierce rolling flames over the ceiling of the Ooni.

One hand basting the chicken thighs, new potatoes, wild garlic and bay leaves with lemony roasting juices, the other hand holding the pan with a kitchen towel in front of an Ooni Karu 16 Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven.

6. Baste the chicken with the lemony roasting juices.

Roughly chop the wild garlic (or, if you are using bulb garlic and parsley, stir in a couple of thinly sliced cloves and some chopped parsley) and scatter it over the potatoes and chicken.

7. Return the tray to the oven and let everything cook for a further 10 to 15 minutes or until the chicken is golden and the potatoes are crisping up nicely.


8. Remove the tray from the oven and let the dish rest for 5 minutes.

Slice, serve and enjoy!