Chicken & Lentils

The simple things are delicious...

Some recipes feel like they belong to a season. This one feels like it belongs to a state of mind, and a very cozy comforting one at that.

It starts with chicken legs roasted until the skin turns deeply golden and crisp, the kind of crackling, savory situation that makes the kitchen smell like you know what you’re doing especially when the punchy green goddess dressing melts into the hot pan. Then there’s the lentils simmering with aromatics until they’re tender and rich, soaking up every bit of flavor in the braise. Finished with a little more green goddess dressing for good measure of course.

I think this is exactly the kind of meal people mean when they talk about “simple cooking,” though simple cooking is rarely actually simple. It’s attention. It’s timing. It’s salting things properly and letting chicken skin get as crisp as it deserves to be.

This is a dinner for rainy evenings and dinner parties that aren’t really dinner parties. It tastes expensive despite being built from some of the most economical ingredients at the store. It’s deeply comforting, but still bright. The kind of thing you eat from a bowl with your sleeves rolled up, pausing every few bites to drag another piece of bread through the dressing pooled at the bottom that’s cream.

Never forget the bread…like I did. Let's dive in.