Brilliantly named by my husband, of course, this is a one-skillet chicken for the soul. One of my most frequented recipes during the cold months, you get all the cozy feelings of Jewish penicillin in golden pieces of chicken roasted on a bed of the same vegetables you’d find floating in your bowl. Just remember, any good Jewish deli will serve slices of challah on the side of their chicken soup, for dipping, so be sure to do the same with this skillet. You’ll want to sop up all those pan drippings!
I call for a medium-sized chicken in this recipe, but it’s not the end of the world if your chicken falls out of that range. If you happen to get a smaller bird, just start temping the breasts after 10 minutes in the oven to make sure you don’t overcook them. But more likely, you’ll end up buying a supersized chicken, and you’ll need to roast it longer to reach a 165°F internal temperature. Depending on the weight, you may need to add an extra 5 to 10 minutes. If the chicken pieces no longer fit in your skillet (I’m bringing this up since it has happened to me), just grab a 9×13-inch baking dish! Follow the recipe as is, and once you pour in the wine or stock, dump all the contents of the skillet into the baking dish with the thyme before topping with the seared chicken and roasting.
From “I COULD NOSH” by Jake Cohen. Copyright © 2023 by Jake Cohen. Reprinted by permission of Harvest, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Soupless Chicken Soup
This one-skillet chicken dish is cozy and delicious.
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 (4-4 ½ lb) chicken, broken down into 8 pieces and patted dry with paper towels
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lb carrots, cut into ¾-inch pieces
- 1 lb parsnips, cut into ¾-inch pieces
- 1 lb (5 medium) celery stalks, cut into ¾-inch pieces
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
- ¾ cup white wine or chicken stock
- 6 sprigs thyme
- chopped fresh parsley and dill, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- In a large cast-iron or ovenproof skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Season the chicken pieces with two heavy pinches each of salt and pepper. Working in two batches, sear the chicken, starting skin side down and turning as needed, until golden, 6-8 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate or sheet pan.
- To the skillet, add the carrots, parsnips, celery, garlic, and two heavy pinches each of salt and pepper, and cook until lightly softened and caramelized, 5-7 minutes. Pour in the wine, then nestle the thyme in the skillet. Place the chicken over the vegetables, skin side up, then transfer the skillet to the oven.
- Roast for 15-20 minutes until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Garnish with chopped parsley and dill, then serve.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Roasting
- Cuisine: Ashkenazi
It looks good! I will let you know how it turns out! Thank you for sharing!
I’d rather use chicken cutlets.
If I use bone-in chicken breasts or boneless chicken breasts instead, should the reipe change? If yes, how?
Hi Norman, the recipe calls for a whole chicken to be broken down into 8 pieces (thus including the breast). If you wanted to use only bone-in breasts, I’d recommend checking the chicken a little earlier than the recipe states, to ensure they don’t dry out. Using boneless chicken breasts will affect both the timing and overall flavor of the dish.
Sounds good, however instead of olive oil I would prefer schmaltz (e.g. goose fat) just to stay a bit on the Ashkenazi line.
How long would I cook if I use chicken cutlets?
Using chicken with bones and skin ALWAYS means a better flavor. Cutlets will not provide that same flavor intensity. Another important instruction if using cutlets (not recommended for this recipe) would be to cut the cooking time for the cutlets or they will be very dry.
★★★★★
I will try it. Do you think it will be as good with cutlets?
Qué son chirivias? Soy de Buenos Aires y aquí no hay nada llamado así…
Se llama en ingles “parsnips” pero si no lo encuentra, puede omitirlo.
The strangest coincidence. I made chicken soup yesterday for the first time in years. Jake Cohen has a point. If you leave out the wine and add a zucchini you’ll have a dish that’s (almost) better than chicken soup. 🤭
What time and where is dinner? It looks deelish!
Did you try it with cutlets? how did it turn out?
I haven’t tried this yet, but it looks wonderful. My one change would be to use the same weight of chicken, but legs and thighs only. We’re dark meat fans here.
How can the chicken be fully cooked if you are suggesting roasting the chicken for only 15-20 minutes? From experience, I have roasted chicken pieces for at least one and a half hours. Even then I alway checked the temperature before I served it.
I’d rather use safflower or cooking oil/ olive oil too thick and tasteless for roasting chicken.
Five Star …..this recipe is marvellous .
★★★★★
This recipe is marvellous ….five star ….i cooked it on high heat to seal it then reduced it to slow cooker and it kept beautifully poaching for hours ….really excellent …….
Might I suggest if you do, then don’t cook them in the oven as they are very likely to get overcooked after pan frying.
If I go skinless do I do anything different
Thanks
I LOVE ROASTED CHICKEN
Looking very good! Thank you for sharing.
★★★★
can one do this in a crock pot????
Hi Judy, this recipe relies on searing the chicken in the skillet for all that delicious roast-y flavor. If you’re looking to roast a chicken in the crock pot, check out this recipe.
Great concept but needs more spices- flavoring. Parsnips & carrots add sweetness. I added asparagus, too. Next time I will add onions.
★★★★