Recipe Details
Baked Chicken Thighs with Ratatouille
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings: 6
Ingredients
6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (2 to 2 ½ pounds total weight)
1 ¼ teaspoons salt, divided into two portions
3 tablespoons olive oil, split use
1 cup chopped yellow onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium eggplant (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 yellow bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1-inch chunks
3 ripe tomatoes, cored and coarsely chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh basil, divided
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Prep and measure out all ingredients before you start cooking.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Sprinkle all chicken thighs evenly with ½ teaspoon of salt. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a deep 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to the skillet with the skin side facing down, and sear until the skin turns golden crispy brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Flip the chicken and sear the opposite side for 4 minutes, then remove the chicken from the skillet and set it aside.
Add your chopped onion to the same skillet (keep the flavorful chicken drippings in the pan). Cook and stir onion for 5 minutes until it softens and turns translucent, then add the minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute, stirring constantly, until you can smell the fragrant garlic.
Pour the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil into the skillet, then add the cubed eggplant. Cook and stir for 5 minutes until the eggplant softens.
Add the bell peppers and zucchini to the skillet, continuing to cook and stir for 10 minutes until all vegetables are partially tender.
Stir in the chopped tomatoes, 3 tablespoons of the fresh basil, thyme, rosemary, the remaining ¾ teaspoon of salt, and black pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, then let it simmer, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes until the tomatoes start to break down and release their juices.
Carefully nestle the seared chicken into the ratatouille vegetable mixture, keeping the chicken skin facing up above the vegetables.
Bake the entire skillet in your preheated oven for 20 minutes. The dish is done when the chicken reaches a safe internal temperature of 170 degrees F (77 degrees C) and the ratatouille is bubbling and thick and saucy. Garnish with the remaining 1 tablespoon of fresh basil before serving.