By VIAnn Todd | Rio Linda Online
(This is one of ViAnn’s best dishes. We don’t really have a recipe, we just throw things at the pan. This combination of apples, fennel and onions is amazing, and perfect for the cooler upcoming Autumn nights. We might put a salad on the side, or a splash of mashed potatoes with butter. – jt)
This easy roast or sheet-pan supper brings together some of fall’s best flavors without leaving a sink full of dishes behind.
Chicken thighs roast alongside tart apple, sliced fennel and onion until everything is tender and caramelized around the edges. Toasted fennel seeds deepen the fennel’s mild licorice flavor, while the apple adds a little sweetness as it cooks.
Choose a firm, tart apple such as Granny Smith so it holds its shape in the oven. Chicken breasts may be substituted, but begin checking them a few minutes early to keep them from drying out.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
- 2½ to 3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, patted dry
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced, about 1½ cups
- 1 medium fennel bulb, tough outer leaves removed, cored and thinly sliced, about 1 cup
- 1 tart apple, such as Crispin or Granny Smith, halved, cored and cut into eight wedges
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
- Flaky salt, for serving
Preparation
Step 1
Heat the oven to 425 degrees.
Place the fennel seeds in a small, dry skillet over medium-low heat. Toast for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often, until fragrant. Crush the seeds coarsely with a mortar and pestle or chop them with a knife.
Place the chicken in a large bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and the crushed fennel seeds. Season generously with kosher salt and black pepper, then toss until the chicken is evenly coated.
Step 2
Arrange the onion, fennel and apple on a large sheet pan. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, season with kosher salt and toss to coat. Spread everything into an even layer.
Set the chicken thighs over the fruit and vegetables with the skin facing up. Distribute the rosemary sprigs across the pan.
Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the apple, fennel and onion are tender and beginning to brown around the edges.
Step 3
Remove the rosemary sprigs and discard them.
Switch the oven to broil and move the rack directly beneath the broiler. Return the pan to the oven for 1 to 2 minutes, watching it closely, until the chicken skin is crisp and deeply golden.
Finish with flaky salt and serve the chicken with plenty of the roasted apple, fennel and onion—and don’t leave those caramelized pan juices behind.
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