Chicken With Caramelized Onions and Croutons

By Sam Sifton

Updated February 11, 2019

  • A cast-iron skillet holds crispy-skinned chicken thighs with croutons, caramelized onions and greens. A small salad of baby romaine and herbs sits nearby, as does a glass of white wine.
    David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.
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This is a no-recipe recipe, a recipe without an ingredients list or steps. It invites you to improvise in the kitchen. This idea came to me from the great New York Times food reporter Julia Moskin. Scatter a bunch of sliced onions and shallots across the oiled bottom of a large pan, then put a bunch of chicken thighs on top, skin-side up. Season the thighs with salt and pepper, then slide the pan into a 425-degree oven to roast until the chicken is crisp on top and cooked through, about 35 minutes. Shake the pan every so often, and add wine or stock if the onions are browning too fast. Meanwhile, make some croutons from good, chewy olive-oil-tossed bread, toasting them until golden in a pan or in the oven alongside the chicken. They can be cut or torn up — no matter. Put the croutons on a warm platter, dump the contents of the roasting pan over the top and arrange the chicken on top of that, mixed with bitter greens. Boy howdy. Sam Sifton features a no-recipe recipe every Wednesday in his What to Cook newsletter. Sign up to receive it. You can find more no-recipe recipes here.

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Comments

Judy Dederick

These columns are great for seniors like me who cooked for decades and need just a little boost to interest us in making special meals again. Thank you, and keep it up!

Al Borden

You can add potatoes cut into small pieces with the onions. They absorb the chicken fat and emerge crisped and golden. Halved brussels sprouts also emerge well after 35 minutes under the thighs. Sprinkle in cayenne (and salt) on the vegetables for an extra kick, and rub some cayenne and salt under the chicken skin for an even heftier one. We do variants of this in our toaster oven (at 450--480) frequently.

Linda R

Added half of a lemon facedown while roasting the chicken then squeezed it over all when done. Delicious!

Amelia

The flavor of the onions was incredible! I used a bunch of the delicate leaves from the fennel in my garden for the greens, yum! I substituted chicken breast for 30 minutes at 425. I started the onions 15 minutes before adding the chicken for extra caramelized flavor. Also threw in whole garlic cloves and 8oz white wine when I started the chicken. Toasted the croutons in oven in separate pan for 20 minutes. I think caramelizing onions like this is brilliant. Would like to try with grilled salmon.

Cece S.

I always loved Sam's "no recipe recipes". They are usually great and always give me inspiration. Please love the stories that usually come with them. Miss you here, Sam.

Cece

I always enjoy Sam's "no recipe recipes"... they are great and also give me inspiration... Thanks Sam, miss you a lot here!

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