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Lemon and Thyme Chicken Thighs with Crispy New Potatoes and Salad

Boneless chicken thighs pan-fried with garlic, lemon and thyme, served on crispy crushed new potatoes with a simple leaf and tomato salad. A gluten-free dinner with 42g of protein, ready in 30 minutes.

Dinner

30

Serves 2

A plate of golden pan-fried chicken thigh topped with a lemon slice and fresh herbs on golden new potatoes, with mixed salad leaves and cherry tomatoes, lemon slices and a cup of tea beside it

Ingredients

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 400g/14oz)
  • 400g/14oz new potatoes, halved if large
  • 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp (20ml) olive oil: 1 tbsp for the pan, 1 tsp for the salad
  • 2 cloves garlic (about 8g), crushed
  • 1 lemon: finely grated zest and 1 tbsp (15ml) juice, plus 2 slices to serve
  • 1 tsp dried thyme (or a few fresh sprigs), 2 pinches of salt plus half a tsp for the potato water, and black pepper
  • 60g/2oz mixed salad leaves and 100g/3½oz cherry tomatoes, halved
  • A few sprigs of flat-leaf parsley, chopped, to serve

Method

  1. Cook the potatoes in a pan of boiling salted water for 12 to 15 minutes, until tender. Drain and leave to steam dry for a minute, then press each one gently with a fork to crush it slightly.
  2. Meanwhile, mix the garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, thyme, a pinch of salt and pepper and rub all over the chicken, then wash your hands.
  3. While the potatoes cook, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large frying pan (skillet), about 28cm/11in, over a medium heat. Cook the chicken for 6 to 7 minutes on each side, until golden and cooked through, with no pink meat and clear juices, or 75C (167F) in the thickest part. Lift onto a plate and keep warm.
  4. Add the crushed potatoes to the pan and fry for 4 to 5 minutes, turning, until crisp in places and coated in the pan juices.
  5. Toss the salad leaves and tomatoes with the remaining teaspoon of oil and a pinch of salt. Serve the chicken on the potatoes, topped with a lemon slice and the parsley, with the salad on the side. Leftovers keep in the fridge for up to 2 days; reheat until steaming hot. Not suitable for freezing.

Why it works

A plate gives you about 42g of protein for 549 calories, most of it from the chicken.

Why thighs. Chicken thighs stay juicy when pan-fried and are harder to overcook than breast. Taking off the skin keeps the fat moderate. Dark meat like thigh also contains more zinc than breast, and zinc contributes to the maintenance of normal testosterone levels in the blood.

Crispy, not roasted. Boiling the new potatoes first, then crushing them and frying them in the chicken pan, gives crisp edges in a fraction of the time of roasting.

Why it is tagged for blood sugar. The potatoes bring 35g of carbohydrate, and the large amount of protein from the chicken helps slow how quickly it is absorbed.

Free from gluten and dairy as written. Always check chicken is cooked through, with no pink meat and clear juices. For a traybake version, try the Greek lemon chicken traybake.