For taste, colour and convenience factor this pan-fried chicken with peppers and potatoes scores highly. Chicken thighs are delicious especially when cooked so the skin is crispy. They have loads of flavour, stay lovely and moist when cooked and are cheaper than chicken breasts, so they get our vote every time. You can make this dish as spicy or as mild as you like, just use the sweet red and yellow peppers and omit the chilli and chilli flakes if you don’t like the heat, it’ll still taste delicious with the fennel seeds and lemon. Serve with plenty of crusty bread to mop up the juices.
Ingredients
- 8 small chicken thighs
- 3tbsp olive oil
- 350g potatoes, cut into cubes
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 red peppers, deseeded and chopped
- 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and chopped
- 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- Pinch of dried chilli flakes
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Method
Cut a couple of slashes across the skin of each chicken thigh and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Heat 1tbsp of the oil in a large shallow pan or frying pan add the chicken thighs and fry over a medium heat for 25-30 mins, turning occasionally, until golden and cooked through.
While the chicken is frying, cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 5-8 mins until just tender but still firm. Drain.
Heat the remaining oil in a separate large frying pan, add the potatoes and onion and fry for 5 mins until the onion has softened and the potatoes have browned slightly. Add the peppers, chilli, garlic, chilli flakes and fennel seeds and cook for 10 mins, turning occasionally, until all the vegetables are tender.
When the chicken is cooked, tip all the pan juices into the pepper pan. Add the lemon juice, season with salt and freshly ground pepper and stir well to mix. Serve the pepper mixture with the chicken and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Top tip for making Pan-fried chicken with peppers and potatoes
Fennel seeds give a subtle taste of aniseed to this dish. Lightly crush them before adding to the pan for maximum flavour.
