The General Nosh- Favorite Fall One Dish Meals

Fall is a very busy time of year at General Knot Headquarters and our favorite go-to dish for dinner is this delicious and simple Tender & Crisp Chicken recipe from Jamie Oliver's book " Jamie's Dinners". You can do this dish with only legs, but we like to throw in some thighs as well.  Make sure to add the "optional" cannellini beans.  This makes the dish incredibly creamy.  Try it tonight.  We guarantee you will put this meal on regular dinner rotation in your home.

From "Jamie's Dinners"

The prep time for this dish is literally minutes but it does require slow, gentle cooking. However, in return for your patience, what happens in the pan from just a couple of ingredients is an absolute joy and never fails, so it's a good one to serve if you have guests.  Basically the skin of the chicken goes beautifully crisp and the meat becomes sticky and tender and falls away from the bone, while the tomatoes are slow-roasting and creating the most fabulous broth.  The finished dish can be flaked into warm salads, tossed with some cooked and drained pappardelle or simply eaten as is.  A great recipe.

Serves 4

4 chicken legs, jointed (or 4 regular legs and 4 thighs)

sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

a big bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked, stalks finely chopped

2 big handfuls of red and yellow cherry tomatoes, halved

1 whole bulb of garlic, broken into cloves and peeled

1 fresh red chili, finely chopped

olive oil

optional: 1 14oz can of cannellini beans, drained

optional: 2 handfuls of new potatoes, scrubbed

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Season your chicken pieces all over and put them into a snug-fitting pan in one layer.  Throw in all the basil leaves and stalks, then chuck in your tomatoes.  Scatter the garlic cloves into the pan with the chopped chili and drizzle over some olive oil.  Mix around a bit, pushing the tomatoes underneath.  Place in the oven for 1 1/2 hours, turning the tomatoes halfway through, until the chicken skin is crisp and the meat falls off the bone.  If you fancy, you can add the cannellini beans or some sliced new potatoes to the pan and cook them with the chicken.  

Enjoy!