Nduja is a very fashionable ingredient at the moment and for very good reason, it’s absolutely delicious! With all the lovely paprika flavours of chorizo but a more loose and spreadable consistency, it’s a great, versatile ingredient which can be used in so many different ways.

Nduja Chicken and Roasties

The inspiration for creating this recipe came many years ago from a restaurant I visited in Manchester when I tried nduja for the first time. It basically a twist on a roast dinner but much easier to make and with much less washing up! This is not strictly a WW friendly recipe as chicken thighs aren’t the leanest cut of chicken and nduja itself is rather high in calories however if you did want to lighten it up, you could make this with chicken breast and reduce the amount of nduja used. Either way, the flavours will still be delicious.

Creamy Nduja Sauce and Greens

INGREDIENTS

Serves 4

• 1kg maris piper potatoes, peeled and cut into 3 or 4 chunks
• 100ml olive oil
• 2 tsp plain flour
• 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 6 cloves of garlic, 4 bashed with the blunt part of a knife (I leave the skin on), 2 peeled and finely chopped
• 8 chicken thighs (bone in, with skin)
• 100g nduja sausage
• Drizzle of honey
• 125ml white wine
• 1 chicken stock cube (made up with 300ml boiling water)
• 200ml single cream
• 60g parmesan, grated
• 2 packs of green beans
• 2 tbsp butter
• Juice of 1 lemon

METHOD

1. To begin, pre heat the oven to 180c. Take a large baking tray, add the oil and pop in the oven to heat up.
2. Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and chop into three of four chunks. Pop into a pan of cold, salted water. Add a stalk of rosemary and then bring to the boil. Once boiled, reduce the water to a simmer and continue to simmer for 2-3 minutes. Drain the potatoes, pop back in the pan, add the lid and let the potatoes steam dry in the pan for a few minutes. Then give the pan a shake with the lid on so the edges of the potatoes go a little fluffy. Sprinkle over the flour and give the pan another shake. This should result in some lovely crispy bits on the potatoes.
3. Add the potatoes to the hot oil (be careful it doesn’t spit on you) and give them a little toss so they are covered in oil. Add the leaves of another stalk of rosemary and the bashed garlic cloves. Pop in the oven for 15 minutes.
4. After 15 minutes, give the potatoes a shake so they turn over and then nestle the chicken thighs between the potatoes and season everything with salt and pepper. Pop back in the oven for another 30 minutes.
5. While the chicken is cooking, take the nduja and either roughly chop or tear apart (remove the skin). Pop into a sauce pan with 200ml boiling water and pop onto a medium heat. This should start breaking up the nduja into a nice saucey consistency (if you are using nduja paste you won’t need as much water and may need to use more than the stated amount of sausage). Once the nduja has loosened, remove from the heat.
6. Once the chicken has been in the oven for 30 minutes, spread three quarters of the nduja across the top of the chicken thighs. Drizzle each with a little honey and then pop back in the oven for another 10 minutes.
7. To make the sauce, take the remaining quarter of the loosened nduja and, into the saucepan, add 125ml white wine. Bring to a simmer for a minute or two and then add 300ml chicken stock and a stalk of rosemary. Simmer until it starts to reduce and thicken a little then add the cream and parmesan. Season with black pepper (taste it before you add salt as nduja can be quite salty) and add a pinch of sugar if you think it needs it. Stir and reduce the heat to keep the sauce warm.
8. Finally, par boil the green beans (3 minutes) in salted water. Then, take a frying pan, add 2 tbsp butter, melt and add the finely chopped garlic. Fry for a minute and then add the green beans. Fry for a few minutes on a high heat until they char a little, then add the juice of 1 lemon and the reserved parmesan. Season with black pepper.
9. Remove the chicken and potatoes from the oven and serve with the green beans, topped with the lovely creamy sauce.
10. Enjoy!

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5 from 2 votes

Nduja Roast Chicken Thighs with Rosemary Roast Potatoes and Garlic Lemon Greens

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1 kg maris piper potatoes peeled and cut into 3 or 4 chunks
• 100 ml olive oil
• 2 tsp plain flour
• 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 6 cloves of garlic 4 bashed with the blunt part of a knife (I leave the skin on), 2 peeled and finely chopped
• 8 chicken thighs bone in, with skin
• 100 g nduja sausage
• Drizzle of honey
• 125 ml white wine
• 1 chicken stock cube made up with 300ml boiling water
• 200 ml single cream
• 60 g parmesan grated
• 2 packs of green beans
• 2 tbsp butter
• Juice of 1 lemon

Instructions

• To begin, pre heat the oven to 180c. Take a large baking tray, add the oil and pop in the oven to heat up.
• Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and chop into three of four chunks. Pop into a pan of cold, salted water. Add a stalk of rosemary and then bring to the boil. Once boiled, reduce the water to a simmer and continue to simmer for 2-3 minutes. Drain the potatoes, pop back in the pan, add the lid and let the potatoes steam dry in the pan for a few minutes. Then give the pan a shake with the lid on so the edges of the potatoes go a little fluffy. Sprinkle over the flour and give the pan another shake. This should result in some lovely crispy bits on the potatoes.
• Add the potatoes to the hot oil (be careful it doesn’t spit on you) and give them a little toss so they are covered in oil. Add the leaves of another stalk of rosemary and the bashed garlic cloves. Pop in the oven for 15 minutes.
• After 15 minutes, give the potatoes a shake so they turn over and then nestle the chicken thighs between the potatoes and season everything with salt and pepper. Pop back in the oven for another 30 minutes.
• While the chicken is cooking, take the nduja and either roughly chop or tear apart (remove the skin). Pop into a sauce pan with 200ml boiling water and pop onto a medium heat. This should start breaking up the nduja into a nice saucey consistency (if you are using nduja paste you won’t need as much water and may need to use more than the stated amount of sausage). Once the nduja has loosened, remove from the heat.
• Once the chicken has been in the oven for 30 minutes, spread three quarters of the nduja across the top of the chicken thighs. Drizzle each with a little honey and then pop back in the oven for another 10 minutes.
• To make the sauce, take the remaining quarter of the loosened nduja and, into the saucepan, add 125ml white wine. Bring to a simmer for a minute or two and then add 300ml chicken stock and a stalk of rosemary. Simmer until it starts to reduce and thicken a little then add the cream and parmesan. Season with black pepper (taste it before you add salt as nduja can be quite salty) and add a pinch of sugar if you think it needs it. Stir and reduce the heat to keep the sauce warm.
• Finally, par boil the green beans (3 minutes) in salted water. Then, take a frying pan, add 2 tbsp butter, melt and add the finely chopped garlic. Fry for a minute and then add the green beans. Fry for a few minutes on a high heat until they char a little, then add the juice of 1 lemon and the reserved parmesan. Season with black pepper.
• Remove the chicken and potatoes from the oven and serve with the green beans, topped with the lovely creamy sauce.
• Enjoy!