This Spanish-inspired roast chicken recipe offers an array of flavours that help provide a quick midweek roast dinner. With the warmth of spices infused with zingy lemon and runny honey, this recipe will help refuel you after a long run, but it’s also perfect for a get-together with friends.
What is Spanish-Inspired Roast Chicken
Well, long answer short, it’s a figment of my imagination. It’s inspired by a roasted chicken leg I had in a restaurant in Seville, and I recreated it from memory, using flavours associated with Spain.
It’s the perfect companion to my tapas-inspired patatas bravas, or with this fresh green bean salad. For a simpler option, try garlic-flavoured rice or couscous. For a vegetarian twist, use the same marinade but with vegetables such as aubergine or cauliflower cut into thick steaks.
Chicken Thighs
Chicken thighs with the skin on seem to get a bad rap in the healthy eating community. The high saturated fat content found in chicken thighs with their skin vs chicken thighs without the skin might explain why. However, when appropriately cooked, the crispy skin infused with Mediterranean flavours is well worth the extra calories. Besides, in moderation, fats aren’t all bad.
Chicken thighs, as with most cuts of meat, are incredibly high in protein. This makes them, and this Spanish-inspired roast chicken recipe, the perfect recovery meal, especially when served alongside a fibrous salad, such as my green bean salad, and a high-carbohydrate side, like rice.
As for the bone, you can use boneless chicken thighs if you prefer. However, I can’t stress the importance of the bone in cooking. It helps keep the flesh moist and improves the flavour of the already delicious thigh meat. A word of caution, however: bone-in chicken thighs take longer to cook, as the bone conducts heat. However, that extra patience helps distribute the heat more evenly, resulting in a juicier flavour.
Spanish Paprika
Spanish paprika, known as pimentón, comes in three distinct varieties. Dulce means sweet, Picante means spicy, and agridulce is medium-heat paprika. Paprika is strongly associated with Spanish cuisine, and it would be unthinkable to imagine Spanish chorizo without the spice.
The signature smoky flavour of Spanish paprika comes from the production methods. Producers in regions such as La Vera use smoke to dry the peppers before grinding them into a bright red powder.
Try this recipe with hot or sweet Spanish paprika for varying results. Sweet paprika will impart a smoky, roasted flavour to the dish without assaulting the tongue. Hot or picante smoked paprika will leave its mark, but it will also help boost your metabolism, making it perfect for those trying to burn a few extra post-run calories.
Spanish-Inspired Roast Chicken
Ingredients
- 8 Chicken Thighs Bone in, Skin on
- 2 Tsp Ground Cumin
- 2 Tsp Smoked Paprika
- 2 Tsp. Oregano
- 4 Tsp Runny Honey
- 3 Garlic Cloves Crushed
- 60 ml Olive Oil
- Juice of 1 Lemon
- 2 Tsp Salt
- 2 Tsp Black Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190C for a fan-assisted oven.
- Mix the cumin, paprika, oregano, honey, garlic, olive oil and lemon in a small bowl.
- In a larger bowl, add the chicken and pour the marinade over it, mixing well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before cooking.
- Remove the chicken from the fridge and season with salt and pepper. In a roasting tray, lay the chicken skin-side up, leaving enough room between the pieces for air to circulate.
- Roast the chicken for 40-45 minutes, until the skin is crisp and brown and the internal temperature reaches 75 °C.
- Leave the chicken to rest for 5 minutes, then serve.
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