Baked Chicken Drumsticks w/ Red Onion, Paprika & Marjoram
Today’s Herb: MARJORAM
Not many people are familiar with MARJORAM, I guess it’s because unless you grow your own herbs, chances are you haven’t come across it, as supermarkets and greengrocers seldom stock it.
More delicate and mild than its cousin oregano, MARJORAM is fairly easy to grow, flourishing even in poor soil, and only requiring a good amount of sunshine and the occasional watering and pruning. It grows as a ground cover, so it really suits garden bed boarders or planted in between upright herbs. Pruning stops it taking over too much space, or you could always give it its own container.
Besides using it fresh, I often dry MARJORAM and keep it in the cupboard, as it’s delicious in so many dishes, and capable of transforming even an everyday cheese and tomato toastie into something really special. Other favourite ways of mine for using MARJORAM include adding it to creamy or cheesy-type dishes, such as in Mac n’ Cheese, Leek & Potato Soup or Potato Gratin, and it’s equally great in marinades, rubs or pesto style dips. So, all in all, a great addition to any herb garden.
For today’s lunch I prepared the chicken drumsticks I took out of the freezer yesterday. After dueling on which herb I should use for the marinade (and to write about), MARJORAM won 😊.
I’m happy I went for it, as combining MARJORAM with the paprika, lemon and the slowly roasted, slightly caramelised red onions, made these oven baked chicken drumsticks very moreish indeed.
*Just in case you don’t have marjoram, you could replace it with dried or fresh oregano instead.
BAKED CHICKEN DRUMSTICKS WITH RED ONION, PAPRIKA & MARJORAM
Serves 4
8 chicken drumsticks
3 garlic, peeled and crushed
1 lemon
½ Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp fresh marjoram, chopped and a few extra sprigs
1 large or 2 medium red onions, peeled, cut in half and thinly sliced
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
Method:
Chicken drums ready to go in the oven :)
1. Rinse and pat dry the chicken drumsticks and place them in a bowl, large plate or Tupperware container.
2. Add the crushed garlic, paprika, lemon and chopped marjoram to the chicken. Season with salt and pepper and toss it well.
3. Add the sliced onions and a good drizzle of olive oil and toss it again until well coated. If possible, leave it to rest anything from half an hour (covered, at room temperature), to overnight (covered, in the fridge).
4. Once ready to bake, preheat oven to 180 C. Scrape most red onion from chicken and place at the bottom of a roasting dish or tray (like if you’re preparing a ‘bed’ to place drumsticks on top. This will prevent onions coking to fast and burning.
5. Bake chicken in the oven for about 45 minutes, checking and turning chicken drums, brushing some of the cooking fat from the tray on the chicken, until they’re golden and cooked through.
To Serve: EASY ROASTED VEGETABLES
1. Cut veg in similar-size pieces and place each variety separately on an oven tray (see picture). Keeping them separate means you can remove each variety once its cooked, thus avoiding some pieces burning while others are still undercooked (mine were ready all at the same time, but just to be on the safe side 😊).
2. Season with salt and pepper, add a few halved garlic cloves to the tray and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat.
3. Roast @ 180°C oven, for about 25 minutes, turning vegetables about 2-3 times during cooking time. If you only have one shelf in your oven, I’d suggest roasting the veg beforehand and then pre-heating them for 8-10 mins once chicken drumsticks are ready.
I used a mix of baby potatoes, kumara and pumpkin, but feel free to use whatever you have available :)
Serving Suggestion :)
YUM!!! :)