Herb Marinated Chicken
with potato and cauliflower mash / sourdough dressing
In honor of Canadian Thanksgiving, we’re serving up a Thanksgiving-inspired meal. This will take a bit more time than our standard weeknight meals, but offers all the comforts of this classic dinner.
Smarts #1: Depending on the size and shape of baking dish used for the bread dressing, you may or may not need the second portion of liquid. Just add enough extra liquid to cover most of the bread cubes.
Smarts #2: If you’re going to celebrate U.S. Thanksgiving this year but need a downsized version, this is a good meal to come back to in November.
Ingredients
- Garlic - 4 cloves, diced
- Oil, cooking - 1/4 cup
- Lemon juice - 2 Tbsp
- Italian seasoning - 1 Tbsp
- Salt - 1/2 tsp
- Black pepper - 1/4 tsp
- Chicken thighs, bone-in and skin on - 4
- Foil - for baking
- Cauliflower florets, fresh or frozen - 12 oz
- Potatoes, russet - 12 oz, cubed
- Milk - 1/4 cup
- Butter - 1 Tbsp
- Bread, sourdough - 12 oz, cubed (sub any type of bread)
- Garlic - 3 cloves, chopped
- Onions, medium - 1, diced
- Carrots - 8 oz, diced
- Celery (opt) - 2 stalks, diced
- Parsley, fresh - 1/4 cup, chopped
- Butter - 3 Tbsp
- Thyme, dried - 1/2 tsp
- Eggs - 2
- Stock, any type - 1 1/2 cups + 3/4 cup
- Foil - for baking
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Toast bread cubes - Slice bread into cubes and spread out on a sheet pan. Bake at 300F / 149C, stirring halfway through cooking, until golden brown and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Cauliflower (if using fresh) / Garlic (for chicken and dressing) - Prep as directed. Store separately. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Marinate chicken - Combine garlic (portion for chicken), oil, lemon juice, Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper in an oven-safe baking dish. Add chicken, turning a few times to coat. Turn chicken so the skin-side is facing up and marinate for at least 20 minutes and up to 1 day. (Note: If you have room in your refrigerator, leaving the dish uncovered will help to dry out the top of the chicken and create a crispier skin.) (Can be done up to 1 day ahead)
- Onions / Carrots / Celery / Parsley - Prep as directed. Combine onions, carrots, and celery in one container. Store parsley separately. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Potatoes - Peel and cube potatoes. Place in a saucepan filled with cool water to prevent discoloring.
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Make
- Heat oven to 425F / 218C. Line a sheet pan with foil (for the chicken) and set aside.
- Spray an 8” / 20 cm square baking dish or round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray or rub with some cooking oil. (Note: this is for 4 servings, adjust the size of the pan if customizing; if making a small amount, a loaf pan may work well.)
- Heat a large skillet with butter (portion for dressing) over medium heat. When butter melts, add onions, carrots, and celery. Saute until very tender, ~10 minutes.
- Add garlic (portion for dressing), parsley, and dried thyme and saute for 2 minutes more. Season with some salt and black pepper.
- Combine aromatics with toasted bread in prepared baking dish (you can alternate adding layers of bread and aromatics).
- Whisk eggs into first portion of stock and pour over dressing. Liquid should reach just below the top of the bread, leaving a few pieces of bread sticking out. (You can gently press down on the top of the bread to help submerge more of it in liquid; if you need more liquid add some of the second portion of stock.)
- Cover dressing with foil and transfer to oven. Bake for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, remove the cover and continue baking, uncovered for 15 minutes more so the topping gets brown and crisp.
- Once dressing is in the oven, transfer chicken thighs to sheet pan with foil (discard marinade), leaving them skin-side up so skin will get crispy in the oven. Bake chicken or 30 to 45 minutes, depending on size (internal temperature should reach 165F / 74C).
- Meanwhile, combine potatoes and cauliflower in a saucepan filled with water. Season water with some salt.
- Bring water to a boil and then reduce to a low simmer. Simmer potatoes and cauliflower for 12 to 15 minutes until vegetables can be easily pierced with a knife. Drain and let sit in a colander for ~5 minutes to let the steam escape (this creates creamier vs. liquidy potatoes).
- Use a masher to mash steamed potatoes and cauliflower with milk and butter (portion for mash). If needed, add some more milk until creamy and smooth. Season with some salt and pepper.
- Serve chicken with mash and dressing on the side. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
Most Helpful
The chicken was wonderful and the dressing was out of this world delicious! The rich flavors and the thick eggy texture combined with the crispy top made this dish really rich. I skipped the mash potatoes and served mixed veggies (peas and corn) and it was a meal fit for a special occasion. Here comes Thanksgiving!
1 Helpful38 reviews
didnt make the stuffing but the chicken was delicious. wish i had made a side of green beans or something though
0 HelpfulRead the reviews and used store bought stuffing instead of making it from scratch. Homemade might have tasted better, but doing from a box meant we could have this on a weeknight. Used our new airfryer for the chicken and it was fantastic. Potatoes were good and my kids ate them until I made the mistake of telling them they had cauliflower.
0 HelpfulI loved this as a Canadian Thanksgiving feast while living in the US. Because we ate it on a Monday night, I did a lot of the prep over the weekend, and I was able to manage it on a weeknight. I LOVED the chicken and the mash. I think I'll go back to the family stuffing recipe. This recipe was a bit off for me (perhaps because I scaled it to 2 servings).
0 HelpfulI made the three parts of this on separate nights because others said it was labor intensive. I am incorporating the potato/cauliflower mash using frozen riced cauliflower into the menu this year, but keeping our tried and true family favorites for bird and stuffing. I think I might be disowned if I try to mess with Great Grandma's stuffing, ha! ;-)
0 HelpfulThis was a fun feast for a special occasion, but it took us a solid 2 hours to make as a team, so definitely not a casual meal.
0 Helpful