Dry-Brined Chicken Vesuvio with Lemon-Butter Pan Sauce

Method

1. To dry-brine, pat the chicken very dry and rub the salt, pepper and half the oregano all over, including under the skin and on the flesh side. Set it skin side up on a rack and refrigerate uncovered for at least 1 h, ideally overnight. The salt seasons the meat deeply and keeps it juicy, while the air dries the skin so it roasts much crisper.

   Add in this stepBone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 150 g each) 4Salt (for dry-brining) 1¼ tspCoarsely ground black pepper ½ tspDried oregano ½ tsp

2. Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking and preheat the oven to 220 °C. Cut the unpeeled potatoes lengthwise into 8 wedges each, put them in a 20 cm pot, cover with cold water by 2 cm and add the coarse salt. Bring to the boil on high heat (10 min), then lower to medium heat and simmer 5 min, until the edges are soft but the centre is still firm. Drain and let them steam dry in the colander until the surface looks dry and chalky; that rough surface is what turns crunchy.

   Add in this stepMedium waxy potatoes (about 200 g each) 2Coarse salt (for the potato water) 3 tsp

   high heat→medium heat

3. Pat off any moisture on the chicken again. Heat the oil in a 26 cm oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat, lay the chicken in skin side down and cook without moving for 8 min, until the fat has rendered and the skin is a deep brown, then lift it out. If the pan is crowded, work in two batches. If there's a lot of fat, pour off all but about 2 tablespoons.

   Add in this stepOlive oil (for cooking) 1½ tbsp

   medium-high heat

4. In the same pan, still on medium-high heat, lay the potatoes cut side down in the chicken fat and cook for 6 min, turning once, until two sides are crisp and golden.

   medium-high heat

5. Lower the heat to medium heat, push the potatoes aside and put the halved garlic in the centre, cut side down, for 2 min, until golden at the edges. Pour in the wine, scrape up the browned bits and let it bubble for 3 min, until reduced by half. Add the stock and the rest of the oregano.

   Add in this stepGarlic cloves, halved 10Dry white wine 150 mlChicken stock (low-salt, homemade if possible) 150 mlDried oregano ½ tsp

   medium heat

6. Set the chicken skin side up on the potatoes (keep the liquid off the skin) and put the skillet in the oven at 220 °C for 30 min. It's done when the thickest part near the bone reads about 80 °C and a knife slides easily into the potatoes.

   oven

7. Move the chicken and potatoes to a warm platter to rest. The handle is extremely hot, so always hold it with an oven glove or dry towel. Set the skillet over medium heat, add the peas and warm them for 2 min, then turn off the heat. Swirl in the cold butter a few pieces at a time and squeeze in the lemon juice to make a glossy sauce. Taste, add the parsley and spoon it over the chicken and potatoes.

   Add in this stepFrozen peas 100 gUnsalted butter, cold, diced 20 gLemon (juice) ½Flat-leaf parsley, chopped 2 tbsp

   medium heat