Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs with Grapes and Almonds

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This simple preparation is a great dinner party dish because it is fast, it serves a crowd, and weirdly, it ends up being a stunning dish. Chicken thighs are roasted with garlic, thyme, shallots, red grapes, and whole almonds. The grapes collapse and burst to form a sweet and sour sauce, the almonds toast in the rendered fat, and the garlic, thyme, and spices meld to scent the meat with a rich, herbal headedness that makes it disappear quickly. You may want to choose seedless grape varieties if you have fussy eaters or guests, but some thick-skinned heritage varieties make particularly luscious versions – even if you may have a few seeds to spit out. 

The dish can be made with boneless, skin-on thighs, but the flavor of the meat cooked on the bone is much better.

Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs with Grapes and Almonds

Recipe by DrewCourse: MainCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

45

minutes

Total time

1

hour 

Ingredients

• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

• 1 bunch red table grapes

• 4 cloves garlic, crushed or microplaned

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• ½ cup blanched, whole almonds

• 10 sprigs fresh thyme

• 4 sprigs fresh rosemary

• 1 tsp black pepper

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 1/2 cup chicken stock (opt.)

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter (opt.)

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 400°.
• In a large, non-reactive bowl, mix olive oil, garlic, black pepper, and the leaves picked from 2 sprigs of thyme.
• Season the chicken thighs with salt and toss well with the oil and garlic mixture.
• Arrange the thighs on a baking sheet with the almonds, most of the rosemary and thyme (hold on to a few leaves for garnish), and 8-10 grapes per piece.
• Roast for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the skin of the chicken is nicely browned and the meat has reached an internal temperature of 160°.
• To finish, scatter with a little fresh thyme, rosemary, and or chopped parsley.
• Serve with roasted fingerling potatoes, a nice bitter salad, and fresh bread for mopping up the juices. 

Notes

• You can add 1/2 cup chicken stock and 1 tbsp unsalted butter to the pan right when it comes out of the oven to make a sauceier version that’s great with pasta.

Be sure to check out my other food project, The Weekly Menu!