Roasted chicken and crispy smashed potatoes

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

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Ingredients

Scale

1 cup (about 4 oz) small potatoes
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 chicken breast, bone-in/skin-on
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 garlic clove, minced or grated
1 teaspoon fresh thyme or ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon lemon zest or ½ teaspoon rice vinegar
2 cups torn kale leaves
Salt and pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450.
Combine water and potatoes in a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for 2 minutes, until potatoes are steamed and slightly soft (alternatively, you can parboil them).
Drain water, and spread out on small sheet pan. Use the bottom of a glass to lightly smash each potato - you don’t want to destroy them, but you’re looking for a good amount of surface area to crisp up. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon of oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set aside while you prepare chicken.
Mix butter, garlic, thyme and lemon (or vinegar) in a small bowl.
Place chicken breast on pan and use your finger to gently pry the skin away from meat. Spread the butter mixture under the skin and use your fingers to try and get it over as much surface as possible (so you want the butter to be between the skin and meat).
Pour remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil over the top of chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper (I use about ½ teaspoon salt + ¼ teaspoon pepper).
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through (highly suggest getting a meat thermometer!). Remove chicken from pan and let rest.
While chicken rests, add the kale leaves to the pan and toss to coat in the oil and chicken drippings on the pan.
Return pan to oven and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until potatoes are super crispy, and kale is a mix of crispy and chewy to your liking.
Remove breast from bone, and slice. Serve with potatoes and kale, topped with more salt if needed!

I'll be the first to admit that there is absolutely nothing wrong with roasting an entire chicken for one person. Not only is there zero shame in that game, but it generally just makes more sense to do the whole damn thing, ya know?

Eat some delicious roast chicken one night. And then eat it again! And probably a couple more times after that! Put it on salad. Turn it into a salad. Toss it with spices and fill your tacos! There's a reason why roast chicken is a classic - and it has nothing to do with how many people you're feeding.

With. That. Said.

Sometimes you don't need, or even want, all that chicken. I get it. That's normal too. Let's be honest, there's a reason why they sell chicken parts right alongside those whole guys.

The one thing I will insist upon - even if just cooking for one - is roasting a skin-on, bone-in chicken breast. It's worth it in every way, so just do it. I can generally find a single breast in my local stores, but if you can only find packages with 2-4, feel free to freeze the others for future solo roast chicken nights and file them under "self-care."

So the tricks here are to use a decent amount of fat (butter AND olive oil - don't yell at me) and a hiiiiigh roasting temperature to ensure the juiciest piece of meat. Ever. I picked up this tip from FoodieCrush and I love her everyday for it.

And because I try to keep my cooking for one recipes as simple and low-maintenance as possible, we give the little baby potatoes a quick steam in the microwave (gasp) to ensure they cook perfectly alongside the chicken. The kale is honestly optional because chicken + potatoes is absolutely a full meal, but if you've never never tossed kale in chicken juices and then roasted until crisp-chewy? Omg. Just do it.

Alright, go on and cook for yourself. You deserve it.