yogurt herb marinated chicken thighs with garlic roasted cauliflower

hello from my newfound cozyish corner of the east coast (or is it the south? what is virginia, technically? does anyone know?) where it doesn’t quite yet feel like home but it feels familiar enough and for now that will have to do. i’ve taken a few walks and dreamed up a few recipes and landed myself a few jobs, but this semblance of plopping my old routine into a new one feels sort of like playing pretend. one minor meltdown fueled by champagne, the schitt’s creek finale, and a facetime call from minnesota friends, and i’m turning the corner towards Figuring It Out. maybe? yes, yes, sure.

as i’ve recently discovered, there isn’t really a guide book for uprooting your whole life and making the new normal feel instantly superb, so my coping mechanisms have gone as follows: not setting alarms (there is literally no routine to speak of yet, why fuss with it?), reading roughly 1,000 pages from multiple books in the span of a week, researching hiking equipment needed to trek mount kilimanjaro, dire texts about the state of things to my sister, bagel sandwiches with jalapeño cream cheese that are actually bigger than my head, beer, refreshing my email 23974983 times a day, and frequent trips to the grocery store.

totally healthy and we’re doing just great, thanks!

on one of these trips to the grocery store, an herby citrusy yogurty chicken thigh-shaped lightbulb burst in my head, and i thought, oh, that would be super easy, and let’s add capers and pickled onions to make it pop and a vegetable to round things out because ~ balance ~. i knew i wanted it to be simple and fast, because even in the midst of an endless expanse of vast seas of free time, dinner should still not be complicated and it should ultimately be delicious. so here we go!

yogurt herb marinated chicken thighs with garlic roasted cauliflower! everything bright and fresh is happening here, and we get juicy, crispy roasted chicken thighs out of the deal. there are only 10 ingredients + spices, and a quick little marinade, sear, roast, toss, done. once you’re moving and grooving, it’ll be ready in 30 minutes. we’ve got 30 minutes, right? (the answer at present is, obviously, yes.) but we still love that about this dish.

a few things before we get started:

- you can definitely make this recipe on one sheet pan and skip the searing-deglazing-then roasting business, however, your chicken will not be as crispy and you will need a pretty large sheet pan to accommodate both the chicken thighs and the cauliflower. BUT! if that makes your life easier, please proceed
- this recipe is tangy, bright, and super springy with the fresh herbs. if you’re not the type of person who enjoys olives, capers, and those briny-sour flavors, i’m going to heartily recommend you just make the chicken thighs and pair them with something like this brown rice mujadara or this lemon turmeric cauliflower recipe which is similar, and would pair really well
- if you really, REALLY like a sauce (that’s everyone, right?) you can double the yogurt marinade and quite literally lather your chicken thighs and your life in it. 10/10 support that move

yogurt herb marinated chicken thighs with garlic roasted cauliflower
makes: 4 servings
prep time: 10 minutes + 1 hour to marinate
cook time: 30 minutes

for the chicken + marinade:
1 1/2lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (i got a package of 4)
1/2c plain, full-fat yogurt
1/4c fresh mint, chopped
1/4c fresh parsley, chopped
zest + juice from 1/2 an orange (you’ll use the other half of the juice to deglaze in a bit)
1tbsp olive oil
1tsp garlic powder
1tsp coriander
1tsp salt
1tsp black pepper

1/2 an onion, sliced
juice from 1/2 an orange
1tbsp olive oil

for the cauliflower:
1 head of cauliflower, chopped into florets
1tsp garlic powder
1/2tsp salt
1/2tsp black pepper
1tbsp olive oil

1/2c castelvetrano olives, pitted and sliced (or whole, if that’s your jam!)
2tbsp capers
1/2c fresh mint leaves
1/2c fresh parsley
zest and juice from 1 orange
pickled red onion, optional but highly encouraged
salt and pepper, to taste

preheat the oven to 400.
mix together the yogurt, herbs, orange zest and juice, oil and spices. using a paper towel, pat the chicken dry, removing as much moisture as possible (this will help the skin get the crispiest.) then, place the chicken in a large bowl, and pour 3/4 of the marinade onto the thighs - you’re reserving the last 1/4 for topping once it’s cooked. coat the chicken with the marinade, taking care to get under the skin and on all sides. let the chicken sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes and up to 1 hour.

in a large skillet, (i used a cast iron for this and it worked really well) heat the olive oil for the chicken over medium high. place the chicken in the skillet and sear for 3-5 minutes per side, until the skin gets crispy. remove the chicken from the skillet, add the onion, and orange juice, and scrape up the bits from the bottom of the pan to deglaze. saute the onion for 2-3 minutes until it begins to soften, then nestle the chicken thighs back into the skillet. pop the skillet in the oven for 20 minutes to allow the chicken thighs to cook through entirely.

meanwhile, toss the cauliflower in the oil and spices and arrange on a baking sheet. roast for 30 minutes, flipping halfway.

once the cauliflower is roasted, toss with the olives, capers, fresh herbs, orange zest and juice, pickled onion, and spices. add more of any of these goodies as you like! serve the chicken thighs on top of the cauliflower, and drizzle the remaining yogurt marinade over top.