I usually reserve Mondays for giving the menu for what Jason and I will eat for the week but we had such a busy week last week that I still have recipes that we haven't eaten yet. Good thing I stashed the meat in the freezer! For tonight I asked J what he wanted for dinner and he requested the paprika and spice chicken served with zucchini gratin. I am so excited to share this meal with everyone! It is perfect for a weeknight meal. But just because a dinner is easy (and low carb) it doesn't mean it doesn't have flavor- its quite the opposite actually. The staple in this dinner is bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. We really love chicken thighs, they are so flavorful and I love- love a crispy skin plus they are easy on the wallet. I have found that baking the chicken in the oven and then broiling it for a minute or so at the end of the cooking time really elevated the flavors and creates a crispy, caramelized skin. So good!
Because I'm making 2 dishes at the same time, I'll walk you through what I did so that both dishes finish at the same time and are ready to serve.
I start by preparing the zucchini for the gratin. Gratins are so easy but can look and taste really fancy. They're great for entertaining with too. For this gratin I use a box grater and grate about a pound of small zucchini.
I used three small zucchinis after grating each one I put it into a colander so that I can get the excess moisture out. In order to do that you need to sprinkle the zucchini with salt. After each zucchini I added a sprinkle of salt and then grated the next one until I was done. Then I set that aside.
I set the oven temperature to 400 degrees to preheat for the chicken. In the meantime I mix the spice mixture together and cover both sides of the chicken massaging it in. The paprika smells wonderful even at this point! Once the chicken is covered in the spices I let it sit for a few minutes.
Once the oven is preheated I line a baking sheet with tin foil and spray with non stick cooking spray. Place the chicken on the baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes. You would never know this recipe was so easy from how amazing it tastes!
The gratin needs about 10 minutes in the oven and I like to finish it with about a minute under the broiler. So once the timer is at 20 minutes left for the chicken in a cast iron skillet I melt 1 tablespoon of butter on medium heat and sauté the onion and garlic that I minced earlier for about 3 minutes. I season the onion and garlic with a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper. I don't want to add too much salt at this point because I added salt to the zucchini to get the moisture out so it is easy to add too much salt. Soon we can taste this mixture and check for seasoning.
Next I add the zucchini but before I do that I squeeze it to get as much moisture out of it as possible. Sauté for about 2 minutes to warm up the zucchini.
To the sautéed zucchini mixture add 1/2 cup of half and half. Cook out to thicken the mixture, about 2 minutes. Now we can taste for seasoning! I added extra salt and pepper until I liked the taste- it's all up to your preference. If you're not sure just add a little at a time until you get the flavor you want.
Next, add the zucchini to a baking dish that has been sprayed with non stick cooking spray. Grate 4 ounces of gruyere cheese and add to the top of the zucchini. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.
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| Ready for the oven- it just needs the cheese! |
Once the timer goes off I put the broiler on and monitor the chicken to make sure it doesn't burn. I leave the zucchini in for a little longer to get a nice crust of cheese on top. Once the gruyere cheese bakes it looses the strong smokey flavor and it mellows out to the perfect flavor to meld with the zucchini and onions and garlic! Yum-O!
When I take the chicken out I transfer it to a place and tent it with tin foil. Now you can stop here because this chicken is just gorgeous! It has a nice crust from the spices and inside is juicy and flavorful but another option is: take the pan juices from the chicken and mix with about 1/4-1/2 cup of sour cream. You can't screw this up just add more sour cream to the pan juices until you get the flavor you want. It makes a perfect cooling sauce for the chicken that pairs well with the spices. I also added a shake or two of garlic salt and a pinch of pepper. Serve that underneath or on top of the chicken- I did both... We really like sauces lol.
The zucchini just needs to be spooned onto the plate. Now it's time to eat! I hope you enjoy this meal! I must say after eating this again this is my favorite zucchini dish hands down! Plus this whole meal is low carb. Its super filling without weighing you down. Eating low carb allows you to feel satisfied but not like 'dead weight'. That explains perfectly how I feel when I eat too many carbs. This meal has so many great flavors and is easy enough to make on a Monday night! Enjoy!
CHICKEN:
- 4 Bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- 2 Tbsp Paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Mix spices together, massage into chicken and let sit for 15 minutes. Bake for 40 minutes at 400 degrees then broil for 1-2 minutes watching carefully to not burn the chicken.
ZUCCHINI GRATIN- serves 2:
- 1 lb zucchini, grated
- 1/2 onion, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Salt, pepper, nutmeg to taste
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup half and half
- 4 oz gruyere cheese, grated
Grate zucchini and place in a colander. Sprinkle with salt to release moisture. Let sit 5- 25 minutes then squeeze to drain out liquid. Sauté onions and garlic for 2-3 mintues, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add zucchini and sprinkle with nutmeg. Cook about 2 minutes until zucchini is warmed through. Check for seasonings- add more salt, pepper, or nutmeg if needed. Next add the half and half and stir until thickened- about 2 minutes. Put in a greased baking dish and top with the grated gruyere cheese. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes and place under the broiler to brown the cheese. Serve immediately.
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