Eat for Eight Bucks: Chili Roasted Chicken and Sweet Potatoes
[Photograph: Robin Bellinger]
This is about as fast as dinner gets at my house. That isn't saying much, but an hour from start to finish for meat-starch-veg is nothing to sniff at, especially when the cook can put her feet up (or fold laundry—or amuse the baby) for a good chunk of that time.
I usually make this with thighs only but this time bought the whole legs to save money. In the past I have tried this rub-and-roast with skinless pieces, and it seemed to work just as well.
Chili Roasted Chicken and Sweet Potatoes
Shopping List
2 sweet potatoes: $2.00
2 whole chicken legs: $4.44
Parsley (pro-rated): $0.50
2 onions: $1.00
Pantry items: Olive oil, salt, pepper, chili powder, ground cumin, honey, apple cider vinegar, cinnamon stick, dried chile pepper, dried thyme, white rice, butter.
Total cost (for 2 large portions): $7.94
-serves 2 generously-
Ingredients
2 sweet potatoes, cut into 1/3 inch dice (I leave the skins on)
1 onion, peeled and sliced
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar (or a squeeze of lime juice)
2 whole chicken legs (bone-in, skin-on), about 1 1/4 pounds total
Procedure
1. Preheat the oven to 375. Put the diced sweet potato and sliced onion in a 9x13 roasting pan and toss with a tablespoon of olive oil and some salt and pepper.
2. In a small bowl, stir together the chili powder, cumin, honey, vinegar, a tablespoon of olive oil, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of pepper. Rub this mixture all over the chicken legs and put them on top of the bed of sweet potatoes. Roast for about 40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through (I always use a thermometer and aim for 160 degrees). In the middle of cooking, turn the chicken pieces over and give the sweet potatoes a stir.
3. If the sweet potatoes aren't done when the chicken is, remove the chicken to a plate to rest, stir the sweet potatoes, and put them back in the oven.
Parslied Rice
-serves 4-
Adapted from a farro recipe in Sunday Suppers at Lucques
Olive oil
About 1/2 cup diced onion
1 cinnamon stick
1 dried chile pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves)
Salt
1 cup white rice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
Pepper
1. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a medium sauce pan over high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent but not browned. Add the cinnamon, chile pepper, thyme, and a pinch of salt and stir for another minute.
2. Stir in the rice and cook, stirring, for about a minute. Add 1 3/4 cups water and bring to a simmer; as soon as the rice simmers, stir once, lower the heat as much as possible, and cover the pot. Cook for 15 minutes without peeking.
3. When the rice is finished, remove it from the heat, slip the butter into the pot, and cover again. After a 10 minute rest, fluff the rice with a fork and then stir in the parsley. Taste for salt and pepper.
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12 Comments:
looks delicious. Perhaps i will make this next week for roast chicken night
rumanddiet at 7:10PM on 11/10/09
Excellent timing. This sounds like a great way to use up our leftover chicken and sweet potatoes.
Cassaendra at 11:51AM on 11/11/09
I just made this for one, using two boneless skinless chicken thighs, one medium sweet potato, and a shallot instead of the onion. I used equal parts of coriander and cumin, honey, apple cider vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper for the rub. I should have made more rub but it was still quite tasty. I warmed some whole grain naan to go with the meal. Thanks for the inspiration!
sunbyrne at 9:53PM on 11/11/09
I love that you roast the chicken directly on top of the sweet potatoes. What a great idea. Would this work with breasts, or are they too thick to match the timing with the sweet potatoes? If so, I am going to try this with regular potatoes and this lemon-garlic chicken!
BigGirlPhoebz at 9:27AM on 11/12/09
BigGirlPheobz, I think it would work fine with breasts. Unless they are super giant they should cook a little faster than legs anyway...although it varies so much that a thermometer really is handy. You could always cut the sweet potatoes a little on the large side and then continue roasting them when the chicken was done, if they weren't done yet. Or if your sweet potatoes end up getting a little overroasted, they should still be quite edible!
Sunbyrne, that combination sounds great!
Robin Bellinger at 1:40AM on 11/13/09
This looks great but . . sweet potatoes AND rice? 2 starches and no greens? Really?
Melp at 9:40AM on 11/16/09
Sounds delicious, really delicious and two carbs, yummmmm. One question though: where do you buy your whole chicken legs? That is expensive! We have a hispanic market here in my town and can buy either drumsticks, thighs, or whole legs for 88 cents a pound usually. The REGULAR price is $1.29 per pound.
sandydee8 at 11:59AM on 11/16/09
Just created this recipe, but with chicken breast instead - also, did not made the rice (used some couscous I had on hand). However, I plan to make the rice next time, but using freekeh - since I often use freekeh in place of rice or pasta. Thank you!
teamgf at 9:15PM on 11/16/09
That's funny, I always think of sweet potatoes as a vegetable, not a starch, since they are so good for you. We eat plenty of greens, trust me...just ask my long-suffering husband. Anyway, I think squash cut into slightly larger chunks would work, too. I'd have to experiment with roasting times. Is squash also a starch?
I buy free-range hormone-free blah blah blah meat, so it does tend to be expensive. That's why this column often features rice and beans.
Oh man, freekeh--I had never heard of this and now am excited to hunt it down. Thanks, teamgf!
Robin Bellinger at 10:35PM on 11/16/09
The chicken and sweet potatoes recipe inspired my husband. My husband didn't include onions (for me) but subbed celery and sprinkled S&B (Japanese) curry powder. We ate it with plain white rice. I loved it.
This was a delicious, filling, and cheap meal -- it cost us less than $1.00 for 2 whole legs and ~$1.00 for 2 sweet potatoes. We roasted zucchini and yellow squash which were $0.50 each.
Cassaendra at 7:15PM on 11/18/09
Made this tonight with skinless, boneless chicken and brown rice. The sweet potatoes took 50 min. and the chicken 40 min. We drizzled extra honey on the sweet potatoes too. This was a great, simple, quick meal.
xwafflesx at 10:23PM on 11/18/09
Made this last night using 3 large chicken breasts and 3 sweet potatoes - chicken was almost perfect in 50. After that we put the potatoes in a large pan and crisped them up along with some butter and already roasted garlic, turned the oven up to 400 and added a bottle of beer and 2 minced jalapenos to the pan for the chicken and put it in for another 8 minutes.
Shredded the chicken for tacos with some homemade avocado salsa and the potatoes were a perfect side dish. We skipped the rice since the potatoes were enough starch for us. Delicious!
unhatched at 9:02AM on 11/20/09