Roast chicken with basil and cherry tomatoes
After a few days of leisure in Madrid—nonstop, as usual—I’m back in Switzerland and I’d like to present the first chicken experiment on my blog. It’s one of those comforting foods that, thanks to its mild flavor and crispy skin, is loved by both kids and adults. There are countless ways to prepare roast chicken, mainly by varying the sauce and the ingredients that accompany it.
Today I felt like giving my chicken an Italian twist with a bit of basil and cherry tomatoes—I have industrial quantities of basil and I’m using it little by little. I don’t have as many tomatoes, but it was inevitable; these two ingredients form an almost perfect pairing. As you probably know, Italian cuisine considers basil an essential ingredient in many dishes because of the refreshing sensation it brings, its aroma, and its sweet flavor—or slightly spicy in older stems.
Enjoy this little virtual trip to the country shaped like a boot.
Ingredients for 2 people
2 chicken leg quarters
10 cherry tomatoes
3 sprigs of fresh basil
1 medium onion
2 tablespoons olive oil (I used extra virgin)
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
basil for garnish (optional)
Preparation
Chop the basil sprigs, slice the onion into rings, and place them in a glass baking dish.
In a bowl, mix the oil and the cream and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Clean the chicken quarters and place them on top of the onion and basil.
Pour the oil and cream mixture over the chicken, making sure the entire skin surface is coated.
Then sprinkle thyme over both the chicken and the contents of the baking dish.
Preheat the oven to 200ºC for 5 minutes and roast the chicken for about 45 minutes, turning it halfway through.
When you turn the chicken, add the cherry tomatoes (placing them at the bottom of the dish, in contact with the sauce).
Notes
You can prepare it the same way but let it marinate overnight in the fridge with the oil, cream, chopped basil, thyme, and pepper mixture.
The reason for adding the tomatoes halfway through cooking is to prevent them from becoming too soft and to keep some texture.