Herby Chicken Legs
with Sticky Roasted Fennel & Truffle Mascarpone
Fewer things smell better than a chicken roasting in the oven with the promise of crispy salty skin and potatoes on the side that have been cooking with chicken soaking in all those juices. If I had to choose one last meal, roast chicken with all the things would probably be it! This recipe is made with legs so it’s quicker to the table and served with roasted fennel and a dollop of truffle mascarpone. Serve it with seasonal greens. I served mine with well cooked cavalo nero cooked with garlic, lots of olive oil and lemon juice.
Ingredients
(Serves 4 but easily adjusted for more!)
Herby Chicken
4 chicken legs
½ cup mixture of sage leaves, rosemary and Italian parsley, roughly chopped
5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
½ cup white wine
Vegetables
5-6 medium Agria potatoes, scrubbed and sliced into 1cm thick rounds
2 medium fennel bulbs, cut into wedges
Truffle Mascarpone
½ cup mascarpone
1 tsp truffle oil
Make It Pretty
Save those fennel tops to sprinkle over the top!
Marinate It
Roughly chop sage, rosemary, parsley and garlic and place in a large bowl with a good drizzle of olive oil. Pat chicken dry and add to bowl. Get in there with your hands and rub that herby mixture all over the chicken. Cover and place in the fridge to marinate for a couple of hours. You could skip the marinating if short on time.
Prep It
Combine mascarpone and truffle oil in a small bowl with a good pinch of salt. Mix well, cover and place in the fridge for serving.
Scrub potatoes and cut into 1cm thick rounds and place in a lined roasting dish. Cut fennel into wedges and add to tray. Save the soft dill looking pieces of fennel to garnish your dish at the end. Drizzle well with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Roast It
Preheat oven to 200°c.
Cook vegetables in the oven for an initial 15 minutes. While vegetables are cooking get the chicken going.
Heat a drizzle of oil in a large fry-pan on high heat. Remove chicken from the fridge and season well with salt and pepper. Place in hot pan skin side down and cook until golden, 2-3 minutes. Flip legs and add wine to pan around chicken and cook until reduced by about a half, 1-2 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside.
After vegetables have been cooking for their initial 15 minutes, remove from oven and nestle the chicken legs (skin side up) into the vegetables. Pour reduced wine around the chicken and vegetables.
Place tray back in the oven to cook for 20-25 minutes, until chicken legs are cooked through. They may take a bit less or longer depending on dat thic-ness. If you insert a sharp knife into the thickest part, the juices should run clear.
When legs are cooked remove them from the tray and place on a plate. Cover them and give them a rest. Return vegetables to oven to cook for a little bit more until golden and sticky, 5-10 minutes.
Eat It!
When everything is ready return rested chicken legs back to tray and dollop over truffle mascarpone. Sprinkle over reserved bits of fennel and serve your masterpiece in the center of the table for everyone to feast their eyes on. The mascarpone melting on the hot chicken releases the BEST truffly aroma!