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Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Spanish Chicken with Chorizo and Potatoes





We've managed to both forget our fifth anniversary last Friday. I don't know if it's due to my working like mad before having to catch a delayed flight back from Shanghai late in the evening while Vijay was too comfortable with me leaving him a free man for almost two weeks. The nearly forsaken milestone was only remembered when Vijay examined the leather strap of his watch, then sparking up a recap of our various gifts to each other past birthdays, Christmases and yes, the day we got together. Putting aside our ailing memories - mine is not a surprise, Vijay forgot the exact date and had to check his diaries - we seized the day and celebrated with an all-American dinner, ending up with the love of my life asking if I could make him bacon topped cheesy fries and Buffalo wings with blue cheese dressing next.



While the watch I gave to Vijay pretty much bound his wrist every single day since Christmas two years ago till its leather strap had started to require some attention, my Nigella Lawson cookbook from him with much love (and much more expectation, I reckoned) was largely neglected for the pass 6 months, like my other cookbooks. Like most friends I know, I draw inspiration on what to cook mostly from current events, my monthly chocolate withdrawal symptoms, who's coming to dinner, eating out, the weather or satisfying the cravings of others. Rarely I would be flipping through a cookbook going "... and what shall I make today?" More often it was "I have to make this now!" and the action following would be to score my favorite blogs, Google, dig up something from my mess of bookmarked recipes, call my mother, call Vijay's mother or Facebook/Twitter/SOS my chef-at-home friends.



This Spanish chicken caught my interest as I was watching Nigella's Kitchen show one night and thought it was high time I do my Christmas present justice and do yet another roast chicken. Who complains about roast chicken? Especially one that really just involves throwing everything into the tray, no marinate, no cutting of various vegetables and no washing of a sink full of dishes.



Sometimes even the most adventurous and willing cook need a break and would want to put lunch together by spending less than half an hour in the kitchen. This is where Nigella comes through for me, starting from this cake and this ridiculously good pasta, way back from her Nigella Bites show I religiously followed while under house arrest from a broken leg more than a year ago. I think I made that pasta while hopping on one leg with my crutches, it was that simple. (Apologies for those iPhone photos though, I didn't really have the intention to start a food blog then!)



So hurrah for meals one could put together with one eye closed and taste superb to boot. Spicy chorizo sausages, citrusy zest of an orange and a bit of slightly bitter oregano (better dried than fresh, in this case), crammed together with effortless baby potatoes and some chopped onions, really, that is all. Leave the kitchen as the oven blazes (unless you happen to be in South Australia right now) and go drive your other half nuts with reminders of how he forgot your anniversary. An hour later, retrieve the golden orange sauced tray, grab a fork and dig in with him, because life is short and shouldn't be dwelled upon things which couldn't be helped.



Have you cooked from a book recently? My latest shipment had just arrived. Hopefully I'll be able to make at least one thing from each of my growing collection, once I get them off the living room floor, that is.
Spanish Chicken with Chorizo and Potatoes
Recipe from Nigella Lawson's Spanish Chicken with Chorizo and Potatoes from her book Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home.
Serves 6.

Note: I added salt and used a little more oil than the recipe called for. I would add the zest of another orange the next time, finding the citrus flavor of just one orange slightly lost in all that chorizo. Refrain from using the juice as you want your chicken to roast, not braise. Recipes as simple as this will depend much on the quality of your ingredients so get the best quality of chorizo you can from your trusted butcher. Depending on the efficiency of your oven, the chicken may be done in less than an hour, since they're cut pieces - I'd check at the 45 or 50 minute point.

Halal options: I have been told by a trusted sources (one halal food dealer and the guys from Las Vacas) that it's possible to get halal chorizo from the cold cut section/deli of Cold Storage at Bangsar Shopping Center specifically. Failing that you can use any beef sausages and add some smoked paprika when seasoning the chicken.

  • 3 tablespoons regular olive oil
  • 12 chicken thighs (bone in, with skin)
  • 750 grams chorizo sausages, whole if baby ones, or cut into 4-cm chunks if regular-sized
  • 1 kilogram baby potatoes, half the larger ones
  • 2 red onions, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • grated zest of one orange
  • salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas mark 7 and place 2 wire racks on the upper and lower thirds. Put the oil in the bottom of 2 shallow roasting tins (I used jelly roll baking trays), about 1 1/2 tablespoons in each. Rub the skin of the chicken in the oil, season with salt accordingly, then turn them skin-side up, 6 pieces in each tin. Divide the chorizo sausages and the new potatoes between the 2 tins.

Sprinkle the onion and the oregano over, then grate the orange zest over the arranged contents of the 2 tins. Cook for 30 minutes, then swap the top tray with the bottom tray in the oven and baste the contents with the orange-colored juices. Continue cooking for about 30 minutes or till chicken is done.


89 comments:

  1. Sasha @ The ProcrastobakerFeb 2, 2012, 10:03:00 AM

    this looks...delicious...ive already had dins but i could definitely make room for a big plate of this loveliness right now! :)

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  2. i am a fan of nigella lawson, there is something incredibly effusive and warm about her. i find her cooking methods ... ahem... homely and realistic but at the same time, i do get appalled a bit when she licks a spoon rather indelicately. nevermind me, i'm judging!

    happy anniversary to you and your love. this is a wonderful meal to tuck into to celebrate. i have not turned on the stove or oven in a week, we are in a deathly heat wave grip & salads or frozen yogurt has been my dinner of preference.

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  3. Sasha: This really works, not heavy and very flavorful.

    Lan: It's hot here too but sometimes I can't resist turning on the oven. I just pop this in, shut the kitchen door and hide in my A/Ced room.

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  4. This looks amazing! I stumbled across your blog while browsing Tastespotting. I cannot wait to try this out. :)


    Oh, and happy (belated) anniversary! I wish you many more happy years together!

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  5. I am definitely bookmarking this dish. It looks so delicious and the photo jumped out at me from FG. Happy Anniversary to you!

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  6. Happy Anniversary ...

    This is really making my jaw drop, mouth water (hence drool), and tummy starts to sing song (hehehe...not a good idea to read and look at photos... as I puasa today ;P temptation ... temptation)

    Beautifully delicious... Brilliant clicks Pick yin :D

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  7. Awwww! What a sweet post! Happy 5th anniversary to you and Vijay! I'm going to bookmark this recipe on my copy of the same cookbook :D The last dish i made from a cookbook is another Turkish recipe. Now, what's new!

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  8. Karami and Anon: Thank you!

    Lisa: Sorry to have messed with your puasa, tak pe, asalkan ada niatnya kan? Make this for Iftar one day!

    Pei Lin: You have the same book? Now I'm thinking to get her Domestic Godess one, seems like there are some desserts in there worth trying.

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  9. mochachocolataritaFeb 2, 2012, 10:07:00 AM

    omgsssssss! happy anniversary and i am soooo gonna make this chicken! yumssss!

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  10. I just want to thank you for this delicious recipe. I made them for dinner tonight and it was out of this world. thank you. really.

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  11. Remembering anniversaries is always sweet :) ... even sweeter when celebrated with a hearty dish like this one. Chorizo and potatoes - what not to like about them...

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  12. paopao1: You're welcome, glad you enjoyed it.

    Shirley: You're right. Thank God for one tray cut chicken roasts.

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  13. Found on pinterest. Looks so good! Quesiton though, Husband is not a fan of dark meat. Would using chicken breast be a ok substitute?

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  14. Rachel: Chicken breast doesn't roast very well. To avoid eating dried up meat, I'd suggest chicken wings instead. If you must use breast, you can also pan fry all the ingredients over the stove instead of roasting them, 10 minutes tops - par boil the potatoes first to cook.

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  15. Found this on Pinterest and OMG, looks amazing! Trying to cut out carbs, but I've been a good girl, so I have to make this -- hmm, when was the last time I had a potato? *LOL*

    Although, I have to disagree about roasting chicken breast. For awhile now, my go-to roasting recipe for chicken breasts has been Claire Robinson's Citrus-Garlic Roasted chicken. The white meat comes out moist and delicious, with just a lovely hint of the citrus (but not too overpowering) -- I use it for my chicken salad recipes.

    I would think this recipe would definitely work with chicken breasts -- might need a smidge longer in the oven, though. ^_^

    -- Gabby (nonchalantgirl.blogspot.com)

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  16. This looks mouthwatering! Can't wait to try this recipe! Thanks for sharing!

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  17. Gabby: I was quite besotted with this when I first saw Nigella's episode and it stuck with me for weeks before I finally made it. I have made it three times since.

    On the dark vs. white meat debate I admit I'm biased on dark meat still, even after I've seen Donna Hay produce moist looking chicken breast fillets perched on top of pretty beans and roasted tomatoes. Personally I still find chicken thigh more flavorful and textural.

    Rebekah: You have to try this at least once, then realize quickly you'll be doing it again very soon.

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  18. Question: is the chorizo, Mexican chorizo, Spanish or other type? Thanks! Pics make this dish look DELISH!!!

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    1. I would like to know too dried or fresh ?

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  19. Roniquilts2: You can use any chorizo I reckon, I used Spanish chorizo here.

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  20. Just made this for dinner and it was absolutley delicous! The skin on the chicken was nice and crispy and the flavours were perfect. One word of caution though, my chorizo started to burn because of the oven temp, so make sure to mix around the chorizo and baste everything otherwise you will end up with burnt chorizo/potatoes. This recipe is a keeper though!

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  21. Anon: Burnt sausages - I realized (after making this with various different chorizos) that this widely depends on what kind you use. Nigella probably didn't have any issues with her baby ones.

    I've had some browned incidents using fairly dry gourmet chorizo from the deli but as long as you baste the whole tray half way through it should be fine.

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  22. I really want to try this tomorrow. Could someone tell me what degrees that would be in an oven here in the us. 350 degrees ????
    Karen

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  23. Karen: that will be 400-425 F in the US.

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  24. This looks delicious and I'd love to make it soon! Does this use the dry cured Chorizo or is this just the regular, uncooked sausage?

    Thanks!

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  25. Jim: I've used both before. The cured ones should go in later as they require shorter cooking time. I recommend the uncooked sausage for this.

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  26. Thanks for the recipe! Found it on Pinterest - Sharon

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  27. Recipe looks wonderful. Could I use lime in the same way as the orange? That is just what I have on hand at the moment. Lime is not sweet like the orange, maybe add a little honey?

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  28. Angela: You can use lime with a just bit of honey but beware that the honey will burn easily.

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  29. I'm thinking of trying a crock-pot version of this recipe. I think it will work better with the breast vs thigh and it'll avoid the hot oven issue in summer. Has anyone else given the crock-pot a whirl with this one yet?

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  30. BN, I am getting ready to put the ingredients in my crock pot as we speak! I am going to do it on low for 6-8 hours. I can't imagine it wouldn't be good! I think I am going to put the chorizo and potatoes on the bottom, then put the chicken on top and do the spices on top of everything. Or, maybe I'll just mix it all up!

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    Replies
    1. What was the outcome using the crock pot?

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    2. How was the recipe using the crock pot?

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  31. Ladies and Gentlemen, I made this for dinner tonight and it was out of this world great. Best served piping hot! Not that it made a difference, but I used chicken quarters that had been rubbed with olive oil and placed in fridge for two days, I did use zest from two oranges and after 30 minutes I sqeezed the juice of one orange over chicken and ended up cooking at 430 degrees f for about 80 minutes. The flavor is incredibly wow! From Alabama, thank you for sharing this recipe!

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  32. Going to attempt to make this for dinner tomorrow night...wish me luck! Thanks for all the helpful tips!

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  33. Success!! Made it for dinner last night....this dish Rocks!! My family loved it! OMG can't wait to eat the leftovers tonight. YUMMOOO!
    Thanks again.

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  34. I made this last night after seeing it on Pinterest. I thought it was really good and very easy which is nice for a weekday. The only thing I will do differently for next time is to add some garlic. I thought it was a little bland at times and garlic would be the perfect fix.

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  35. Thank you so much for this! My husband said it was one of the best things I've made. I think I'll be making this when my in-laws come in a couple weeks. I only made half the recipe since it was just my husband and I and I used a Portuguese linguica since the chorizo at the store wasn't easily sliced and it still came out amazing!

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  36. Ideas on adding garlic and onion are great, this dish is open to additional herbs and aromatics as you wish!

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  37. In US what amount of sausage is this please? 750 grams?

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  38. I made this last week with a few tweaks to cater to my picky kids and personal tastes. It turned out really good. I love chorizo but the tiny town I live in does not sell it so I used beef kielbasa sausage instead. I sprinkled a heavy dose of Italian herbs, salt and pepper over the potatoes before putting the other ingredients in. I used some vegetable oil, a few tablespoons of Dijon mustard, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder as a marinate for the chicken. I coated it and plopped it on top of the potatoes and sausage before baking. It was YUUUMMMMYYYY

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  39. I stumbled across your site last week, thanks to Pip from Meet me at me Mikes blog.....we had friends for supper last night and I made this with the Chocolate Ganache Tartlets for desserts....it was all delicious, so a huge thanks to you and your wonderfully tasty blog for inspiring me!!

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  40. Can you use chicken thighs but without the skin? Thanks for sharing the dish looks great.

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  41. Anon: Yes you can, but the without the skin, reduce the cooking time as the chicken may dry out quicker.

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  42. Made this for thanksgiving, here in Canada today, followed the advice of adding extra oil, turned out great! Easy dish to assemble, thank you so much for sharing!

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  43. Made this for supper tonight. I marinated the chicken for a couple hours in olive oil,italian seasoning,
    g powder,o powder, dijon, salt and peper.
    Used a little extra olive oil. Also cut up some red pepper too as it made it colourful and I love roasted peppers! Served with salad it was spectacular! Don't forget to stir after 30 mins to avoid burning.
    Thanks so much for the recipe, I will make again and again.

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  44. I don't know if anyone else has already said this, but it's important to get Spanish chorizo, and not the Mexican. The Mexican chorizo is usually all I can find, and it's not meant to be eaten like a traditional sausage: you're supposed to squeeze it from it's casing (blegh). Hope this helps someone! Beautiful pictures, btw!

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  45. Made this today for my brother and sister-in-law. We all loved it. I marinated the chicken in olive oil, dijonaise an Italian herbs for two hours before cooking. Yum!!!!!
    This is a keeper!

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  46. I used sweet potatoes... Takes the flavor to a whole new level

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  47. Do you think it would be possible to add spinach to this dish? I love spinach and am always trying to think of ways to add it to my diet :) Can't wait to try this tomorrow!

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  48. I made this last night after stumbling accross this yesterday! And I'm SO glad that I did. I think this will be something I make again and again.

    I added green beans to the roast at the 30min mark and I think they worked really well with the ingredients as well as added the green factor as I love to see a dish that is well rounded in colour. I also seasoned my chicken with chicken spice as well as the herbs. This makes it crisp up nicely with the extra salt and things. I also put in a bunch of whole cloves of garlic, skins on, scattered around the dish. I'm a garlic nut!

    Love this so much I've shared with my other cooking friends. Thanks a mil.

    P.s Your pictures are way more appealing than the ones on the Nigella Lawson site. So glad you posted this otherwise I never would have made it.

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  49. I found your recipe on pinterest! I'm making this chicken right now and it smells amazing! I can't wait to have dinner with the hubby tonight!

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  50. I too found your recipe on Pinterest. I made it earlier this week and everyone in my family absolutely loved it! We're trying to lose some weight so I used skinless/boneless thighs and they turn out perfectly. Hope you don't mind if I share my version of this delicious dish on my food blog. I'll definitely include a link back to this page!

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  51. I have made this recipe twice now and it is the most delicious, yummy dish and my fiancee raves about it! Thank you so much for this delicious, affordable and easy recipe!!

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  52. Abi Ainscough: Sorry for the horrendously late reply. Yes, I always eat this with sides of veges, spinach being one of my favorite. They have to be cooked separately though, just wilted.

    Candice Brand: Thanks for the compliment. I guess we all eat first with our eyes and good food photos always work.

    Thanks Melissa, LisaH and Jodie!

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  53. can you substitute white meat?

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  54. editmouse: Yes you can, but shorten the cooking time to avoid drying it out.

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  55. I'm making this tonight, but omitting the oregano. We love spicy food and I will add chipotle powder, poblano peppers, garlic, onion and taking the chorizo out of the casing. The chorizo will mix with the potatoes and flavor the whole dish more.

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  56. Chicken, chorizo and potatoes - such a wonderful combination and the perfect dish for cold days like today! Yummie!

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  57. I made this dish for friends and it's delicious! I'm glad I read the comments though because it made me decide to put the sausages in at the 30 min mark. Any longer than that and I think they would've been very burnt.

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  58. I made this last night also added some bell peppers. Delicious! Leftovers taste even better.

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  59. Thank you for the halal pointers! I am going to try this tomorrow, and see if my butcher carries the halal counterpart to the sausage.. the chicken looks incredible!

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  60. Made this tonight using boneless skinless thighs...added slivered red peppers and used turkey Italian sausage ...was really tasty but can see that the added flavour from full fat sausage and skin on thighs might make this dish even better...will make it again for sure!

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  61. This is one of our family favorites, started making it about 6 months ago and it has become a go-to recipe. My 14 year old always requests it. The thing I love about it is that it's so easy and clean up is a breeze!
    Thanks for a fantastic, easy recipe!

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  62. I made this last night and loved it. I did add garlic like another suggested (we put garlic in everything we make) Unfortunately I was only able to find the Mexican chorizo not the Spanish so I took it out of the casing and formed them into little meat balls. They crumbled apart but still provided great flavor. Thanks I will be making this again. The chicken came out perfect. I baked for an hour and then put the broiler on low for 15 mins for great color.

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  63. This looks amazing! I just bought some chorizo yesterday and plan on trying this dish tomorrow.

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  64. I have a Fahrenheit oven...the conversion is 428F...do I really have to try and get that on my dial (cause it's not automated) or can I set it to 425F or 450F to make it work??
    Thanks!!

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    1. Hi Anon, around 425 to 450F will work. Adjust cooking time accordingly.

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  65. Have you ever made it the night before and cooked the next day? Was it okay?

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  66. I assume that ground chorizo would not work as well in this recipe, since it would cook faster, right? Every grocery store around me only sells it ground, not packaged like sausage.

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  67. Amanda: You can try to get the sausages from delis or your local butcher. Ground won't work in this recipe.

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  68. I made this for dinner tonight and my VERY picky husband and daughter really enjoyed it. I left off the orange zest on half of it (since I KNEW they'd hate that). I actually preferred it with out the orange zest myself. I added a few whole crushed garlic cloves, extra oil and used chicken breasts and legs. Honestly the breasts were kinda bland and I think next time I'll put them on the bottom with the sausage and potatoes on top, or I'll marinate them. The legs were great!!! But they roasted down in the juices. My dh hates thighs, so I didn't bother. I used Johnsonville Mexican Chorizo (because I didn't even realize there were different kinds) that looked like Brats. I cut them in half. I liked them. They had a nice kick but the spice didn't transfer to the potatoes or the chicken (good for us since I was feeding my 1 & 6 yo). I'm anxious to try it with the Spanish version next. I also basted and moved things around in the pan a few times. I used a roasting pan at 430 degrees for about an hour and a half or so (I didn't keep too close of tabs). This is certainly going into our rotation (which is rare in this home!!). Thank you for sharing an easy weeknight meal!

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  69. This sounds delicious, but (BIG B-U-T!) why list some ingredients in English measurements and some metric? Gonna do my best to translate hoping I get the right equivalents. My family are chicken lovers and chorizo is a recent graduate to my meal plan. Thanks for the recipe. Wish me luck!

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  70. Karen L.: English measurements where exactly? If you wish to convert the spoon measurements into milliliters by all means do so.

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  71. My mouth is watering! I will have to make this soon. Thanks :)

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  72. Perfect dinner!! I used 8 chicken thighs instead of 12 and 3 chirazo ? sausages I also used one large baking dish on the middle rack and cooked it for about 1 hour everything was perfect I used the zest of one navel orange and it was perfect and gave it that extra gourmet flavor. A great recipe to feed friends and family..no complaints!

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  73. I made this for my picky husband and he loved it! Guess what I'm making tonight? Elegant in its simplicity and so delicious

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  74. I'm going to be soooo all over this one! Looks and sounds amazing! I'm keto so I'm going to be doing the recommended sub of the cauli for the spuds, thanks for sharing!

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  75. It looks like you cut up your sausage before you put them in the oven with the chicken and potatoes. Wouldn't the sausage fall apart if I cut it up first before putting it into the oven with the chicken? How did you do it? Thank you!

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  76. Lily: No, the sliced sausages will still have casing around them, you can see that mine didn't fall apart. If using smaller sausages, you can just half them.

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  77. how do i make this dish with boneless chicken thighs?thanks!

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  78. Do you cover the pan with foil or bake uncovered? I've made this many times (it's delicious!) and I always think of this question so I figured it's time to ask.

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  79. Plan on making this for dinner and I was just wondering what type of wine to drink with it. any suggestions

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  80. This was great and fairly easy. I used a large le crueset dish instead of 2 pans and cut the recipe down to 8 Chicken thighs, 12 ounce potatoes, 1 onion. I also added a few cloves of garlic (so glad I did) and a dash or two of hot pepper flakes. I cooked for an hour at 425 degrees and it was perfect. Next time I will not cut in half since I want more leftovers! Also, I used one stick of chorizo that I had in the freezer and cut it into pieces. The flavor of the chorizo is what put this dish over the top.

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  81. I have just made a different version of this recipe and it was fantastic. I used boneless chicken thighs and put them in a pan on top of fresh runner beans, potatoes, kumera, garlic, red onion and olives. I scattered chopped bacon around and sprinkled this with olive oil, salt and pepper. I sprinkled the zest of an orange and some cinnamon over the chicken and cooked this at approx 40 mins at 200 deg centigrade. I then squeezed orange juice over and cooked for another 10 mins. It was very flavoursome and so easy with everything cooked in one pan. This will become a favourite.

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  82. Thank you for the receipe. I shall make it again and again. I sealed the chicken first in coconut oil. I drizzle a little olive oil over on the top of the chicken etc before putting it into the oven. The meal is very flavourful. Thank you.

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  83. Made the recipe today and served it tonight and it was a big hit. I used the zest of one lemon and one orange. Also extracted the juice of both and put on top of the other ingredients. After 30 minutes, I made sure to toss everything and put it back in the oven for another 40 minutes. Used Portuguese Chorizo. Délicieux!

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  84. I've made this several times now...it's my favorite chicken recipe! My kids all love it and always want seconds. It's really easy to put together and is ready from start to finish in less than an hour with very little hands on prep. Thanks so much for the great recipe!

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