Roasted Chicken Potatoes and Radishes with Herby Lemon Ricotta

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 40

Servings - 6

2 lbs bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, excess skin trimmed off**
1-1.5 lbs potatoes, cut into wedges or 1-2-inch pieces*
3 cups halved radishes (from about 2 bunches)
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
1-2 loosely packed cups parsley, dill, cilantro, scallions, mint, basil, and/or arugula (chopped or left whole, for topping)

Crunchy slaw (fennel, radish, cabbage, etc…thinly sliced and tossed in lemon and salt)
Simple arugula/herb salad
Toasted crusty bread
*Use your favorite potato variety for roasting. I like the small creamer potatoes or fingerlings.
**It’s super important to trim off any excess chicken skin - some chicken has a lot more skin than others. This will prevent it from getting too oily.

Make the ricotta sauce
Trim the chicken thighs
Cut 1-1.5 lbs potatoes into wedges or 1-2-inch pieces (store in cold water)
Halve 3 cups radishes (2 bunches)
Prep 1-2 loosely packed cups parsley, dill, cilantro, scallions, mint, basil, and/or arugula (chopped or left whole, for topping)

Preheat the oven to 425F convection or 450F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
To the baking sheet, add the chicken, potatoes, and radishes. In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, tomato paste, salt, and pepper until combined. Pour all over the chicken and potatoes, then use your hands to toss to coat well.
Spread out into an even layer and bake for 35-40 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when most of the liquid that has cooked out of the chicken/radish is evaporated, the potatoes are browned in spots, and the chicken skin is very dark and crisp (see below re chicken).
Check the chicken after 25-30 minutes, if it looks like the skin is burning too much, check to see if it’s cooked through (>160F, it should be), remove the chicken and continue to bake the veggies.
Meanwhile, add all of the ricotta sauce ingredients to a high-speed blender and blend until combined, using a tamper tool to help encourage blending.
You can serve this right from the sheet pan and just add the toppings to your plate. For a nicer presentation, transfer everything to a large serving platter. Top with little dollops of the ricotta (save extra for the table), lots of herbs, black pepper and scatter lemon wedges all over. Put the remaining ricotta in a small bowl, for serving.

Substitutions:

To make vegetarian, you could replace the chicken with cubed or torn tofu chunks. Or you can leave out the chicken and just add some extra veggies. Then serve with any protein of choice.
To make vegan, see above + make this creamy artichoke and herb sauce in place of the pesto.
Use boneless skinless chicken thighs if that’s your preference.
Easily leave out the tomato paste or replace with gochujang or sriracha for a spicy option.
Replace radishes with any veggie that can withstand a long cook time - cauliflower, cabbage, carrots.

Store leftovers in an airtight container:
- Ricotta: in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 2 months
- Chicken/veg: in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Thin out the ricotta with some extra lemon juice or water.
Warm up the chicken and veggies in the microwave until warmed through. To make sure it all heats up at an even rate, it helps to carve the chicken off of the bone. Otherwise, reheat the chicken on its own first, then add the veggies and reheat some more.
Turn it into a salad! Add veggies to a large bowl with greens (arugula, etc…) or lots of fresh herbs and toss with a generous squeeze of lemon and sprinkle of salt. Top with the chicken and ricotta.