Hearty Roasted Chicken with Braised Kale

Go as simple or as complex as you want with this recipe, perfect for home chefs at any level to feed a family or meal prep for the week.

Ingredients

For the chicken

• 6 chicken legs - we used bone-in legs, but you can use any cut. For boneless chicken, cut the cooking time approximately in half.
• Poultry herbal blend - a few sprigs each of sage, rosemary, and thyme. If using dried, use about 1 tbsp each or use 3 tbsp of Italian blend.
• Neutral oil such as avocado oil
• Salt and pepper

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For the vegetables

• 6 cups kale, chopped
• 20 oz. butternut squash, cubed
• 2 tbsp neutral oil such as avocado oil
• 1 Vidalia or other yellow onion, julienned
• 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 2-2.5 cups Chicken stock*
• 1 15.5-oz can cannelini beans
• .5 cup port, white or red wine, or beer (optional)

For serving

• Stiff bread, like ciabbata, sliced

Instructions

Roast the chicken

• Preheat a conventional oven to 400°.
• In a rimmed baking dish, lay out the full herb sprigs.
• Drizzle the chicken with oil on both sides, then generously salt and pepper (including the bone!) on both sides and place on top of the herbs.
• Bake on 400° for 45 minutes while you make the vegetables. If the timer goes off before you’re ready to serve it, just turn the oven off and let the chicken rest in the oven. Pull out and check the temperature when ready to serve; internal temperature should be 165-205°.

Cook the vegetables

• Heat oil in a stock pot over medium-high heat until shimmery.
• Cook onion, stirring frequently, until translucent (about 5 min.)
• Add garlic, continue stirring and cooking for another 5 min.
• Add squash and cook 5 more min. until squash begins to soften.
• There will be a brown crust on the bottom of the pan. This is good! Add port/wine/beer (or ½ cup chicken stock) and bring to a simmer, scraping bottom of pan, until liquid is reduced by half.
• Add half the kale, cover, and simmer for a few minutes until the kale begins to wilt. Then add the other half and cook down. Add the rest of the chicken stock and bring to a simmer, cooking until the veggies are at your desired tenderness.
• Add the cannellini beans and salt & pepper to taste. Cook another minute until heated through.
• Serve the chicken on a bed of veggies, with a slice of bread on the side to mop up all the tasty juices.

Tips:

• While you can make your own stock, chop your own veggies, etc., it’s totally fine to buy precut veggies and canned stock!
• The longer you’re going to cook something, the bigger it should be. Also, uniformly cut pieces cook uniformly.