Southern-Style Chicken With Potato Salad

Everybody likes fried chicken! This version has all the flavour you associate with fried chicken but much less fat because it is baked not fried. Put the chicken to marinate a day ahead if you can, so it becomes really juicy. The low-fat herby potato salad is a great accompaniment.

INGREDIENTS

SERVES: 4

12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (1kg in total)

75g plain flour

1 tsp garlic salt

1 heaped tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp dried thyme

Sunflower oil spray

Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the marinade

200ml low-fat buttermilk

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

½ tsp onion powder

½ tsp dried thyme

½ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp dried sage

¼ tsp white pepper

For the herby potato salad

600g new potatoes

2 tbsp Greek yoghurt (0% fat)

1 heaped tsp low-fat mayonnaise

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp white wine vinegar

40g cornichons, finely chopped

2 tbsp each finely chopped chives, flat-leaf parsley and mint

METHOD

Remove any excess fat from the chicken thighs. Mix the marinade ingredients together in a large bowl, add the chicken and turn to coat. Place in the fridge to marinate overnight, or for at least 4 hours.

For the salad, put the new potatoes into a pan of cold water, bring to the boil and cook for about 20 minutes, until tender; drain. Leave to cool. In a small bowl, mix the yoghurt, mayonnaise, mustard and wine vinegar together.

When you’re ready to cook the chicken, preheat the oven to fan 240°C/Gas 10. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment.

Mix the flour, garlic salt, smoked paprika, thyme and 1 tsp each flaky salt and ground black pepper together in a shallow bowl. Dip each marinated chicken piece into the flour mix and turn to coat well on all sides. Place on the lined baking tray.

Spray each piece of chicken 4 or 5 times with the spray oil. Cook on the top shelf of the oven for 20–30 minutes or until crispy, browned and cooked through. To test, poke the thickest part of the thigh with a skewer – the juices should run clear.

To assemble the salad, halve the cooled potatoes and place them in a serving bowl. Add the yoghurt dressing and turn to coat, then stir through the rest of the ingredients, adding salt and pepper to taste. Serve with the hot Southern-style chicken thighs.

THE LOWDOWN: A good potato salad is versatile – perfect for barbecues and with salads and cold meats. This one swaps high-calorie mayo for a delicious herby dressing, made with low-fat mayo and 0% fat Greek yoghurt.

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