after-dark savory summer chicken and squash
It has been hot here in Los Angeles this summer, and our western-facing kitchen bears the brunt of it in the evenings. The last thing either of us wants to be doing at 6 o'clock is standing in front of a hot stove! But cold food is only appealing for so long ... sometimes we just want something steamy and savory!
The solution is to wait for the sun to go down and then eat a fashionably late dinner after dark.
I'm really proud of tonight's "after dark" dish. I wanted to use up some chicken that had been thawing in the fridge for a while, as well as a bunch of yellow squash that we'd picked up last week. For a summer dish, I knew it couldn't be heavy, therefore no cream sauce ... and I wanted to be able to double up inside the oven and cook our side dish for the same time and at the same temperature. The less heat escaping into the house, the better!
So here's what I came up with ... savory/spicy chicken legs with squash and green beans, baked potatoes on the side. The cinnamon and dash of flour gave the dish an incredible bready aroma, and the other spices gave it a perfect light summery bite.
I didn't give quantities below because I want you, the cook, to be able to spice this up in proportions that your own family enjoys.
Chicken legs
Yellow squash
Garlic cloves
Canned green beans, drained
Olive oil
Flour
Paprika
Cinnamon
Chili flakes
Thyme
Black pepper
Sea salt
Chop yellow squash into small pieces. Mince several cloves of garlic (according to your tastes; I used four small cloves to season five chicken legs). Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Pour olive oil into a 9x13 casserole dish to cost the bottom. Place chicken legs into dish with skins up. Add squash and garlic on top of chicken, and shake the dish so that it all settles. Sprinkle with a few teaspoons of flour. Sprinkle with paprika, cinnamon, chili flakes, thyme, black pepper, and sea salt. Once again, shake the dish so that the ingredients settle. Cover with aluminum foil and put in the oven.
As a side dish, place washed and pierced potatoes on the oven rack beside the casserole dish.
Cook for 25 minutes, then remove casserole dish from oven. Carefully remove the aluminum foil, and drizzle olive oil on top of each of the chicken legs. Add green beans evenly on top of the other ingredients (I used french cut beans). Re-cover with aluminum foil and place in oven.
Cook for another 20-25 minutes, or until the internal temperature of chicken is 170 degrees. Potatoes are also done at this point. Enjoy!