Flattened and spiced chicken thighs with creamed corn and rocket salad

Donal Skehan’s flattened and spiced chicken thighs with creamed corn and rocket salad
Donal Skehan’s flattened and spiced chicken thighs with creamed corn and rocket salad
Serves: 4
Course: Main Course
Cooking Time: 0 hr 40 mins

Ingredients

  • 8 chicken thighs
  • 1-2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning
  • 150g sun-blushed tomatoes
  • Sea salt and ground black pepper
  • For the creamed corn:
  • 850g tin sweetcorn
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 tsp thyme leaves, finely chopped
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • A pinch of cayenne pepper
  • For the rocket salad:
  • 150g rocket leaves
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

A supper using only a few ingredients, of which, the likelihood of you having in your kitchen, is high. The Cajun seasoning isn’t entirely necessary and a simple blend of a teaspoon each of cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, cumin and garlic powder will suffice.

I’m quite fond of this particular method of cooking chicken thighs – it was passed on from a food writer friend. If you would prefer a quicker fix here, I would suggest seeking chicken thighs with the bone removed or alternatively remove it yourself – they will cook much faster.

Place a heavy based frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the oil. Dust the chicken thighs with Cajun seasoning, sea salt and ground black pepper.

Fry the chicken thighs skin side down for 3-4 minutes until they turn golden brown. Reduce the heat and continue to cook skin side down for approximately 20 minutes, pressing down against the pan regularly.

Tender

Turn the chicken and continue to cook for 6-8 minutes or until cooked all the way through. Add the sun-blushed tomatoes to heat through.

While the chicken is cooking, place a frying pan over a medium-high heat and melt the butter. Add the onion and thyme and fry for 6-8 minutes until tender.

Drain the corn and reserve the liquid. Add the kernels to the pan and fry for 3 minutes. Transfer the contents of the pan to a food processor along with the reserved liquid and blitz until just smooth. Return to the pan and bring to simmer. Season with sea salt and cayenne pepper to taste and keep warm.

In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil and vinegar and season with sea salt and ground black pepper. Add the rocket leaves and toss to coat.

Serve the warm creamed corn on plates with two chicken thighs per person and garnish with the sun-blushed tomatoes and rocket leaves.