I got an air fryer. This is mostly notable because I’d been anti air fryer for sort of a long time. It wasn’t so much that I had something against the tool itself, but that it seemed sort of like another single use appliance. I generally dislike single use tools and appliances – with a few notable exceptions. But Prime Day came around and there were some good deals and … I gave in. Since then, I’ve been playing around with it. I’ve tried a bunch of different things ranging from fries (meh, but fast and ok) to fried chicken (nah), to pretty much more that decent “roasted” potatoes.

So far the stand out dish really is the simplest. Simply seasoned and roasted chicken thighs.
Those, of course, are a great blank canvas.
They’re wonderful on their own, but the potential really shines through with the addition of sauces. One of my favorite chicken dishes ever is a simple roasted chicken with Italian salsa verde. Garlic, herbs, capers, olive oil, meld with a hint of spice and splash of acid – in this case the bright kick of fresh lemon juice make a bright, refreshing foil to the crisp, salty richness of a perfectly cooked thigh.
Air Fryer Roasted Chicken Thighs with Salsa Verde
Course: Bone-In, italianDifficulty: Easy4
servings10
minutes300
kcalSImple roasted chicken thighs with italian salsa verde
Ingredients
4 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
4 cloves garlic
2 cups loosely packed parsley leaves
¼ cup olive oil
1 tbsp capers in brine, drained
1 tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp dried red pepper flake
Directions
- Season the chicken with 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper on both sides.
- Place the chicken pieces into your air fryer basket, and cook at 400°F for 20 minutes, stopping once to re-arrange the chicken so it cooks evenly.
- While the chicken cooks, peel, trim, and mince the garlic.
- Finely chop the parsley leaves.
- Add the parsley, garlic, red pepper flakes, remaining salt, capers, and lemon juice to a mortar and pestle and work until fairly smooth, adding small amounts of oil as you go.
- Once you have a fairly even paste, add the remaining oil and lemon juice.
- Stir well before spooning over roasted thighs.
Be sure to check out my other food project, The Weekly Menu!