I love Jamie's food and his casual, intuitive style of cooking, but to me what really differentiates him as a celebrity chef is his commitment to giving back to the community and making real changes in the way that we eat. He created Fifteen as a way to give disadvantaged kids a chance at a culinary career, and he has been working on his campaign "School Dinners" for the past several years to show how inexpensive meals can still be tasty and healthy. "Jamie's Dinners" takes this philosopy home, as an attempt to show people that everyday meals can be easy, more cost effective, and healthier than take-away.
Recently my brother was hit by a car - he's OK! - but had found himself laid up on the couch and in danger of going into a fast-food coma. I went over to his apartment (and ill-equipped kitchen...sigh!) and made this dish to last for several meals throughout the week. I had to sub chili beans for the cannelini beans, and used 8 drumsticks instead of 4 whole legs, but the beauty of the recipe is that you can't really mess it up.
"Everyday Crispy Chicken with Sweet Tomatoes"
- 4 chicken legs, jointed
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- a big bunch of frsh basil, leaves picked, stalks finely chopped
- 2 big handfuls of red and yellow cherry tomatoes, halved, and ripe plum tomatoes, quartered
- 1 whole bulb of garlic, broken up into cloves
- 1 fresh red chili, finely chopped
- olive oil
- 1 can cannellini beans, drained
- Season chicken pieces all over and put them into a snug-fitting pan in one layer.
- Throw in all of the basil leaves and stalks, then chuck in your tomatoes.
- Scatter the garlic cloves into the pan with the chopped chili, and drizzle over some olive oil. Add the beans.
- Mix around a bit, pushing the tomatoes underneath.
- Place in the oven for 1 1/2 hours, turning the tomatoes halfway through, until the chicken skin is crisp and the meat falls off of the bone.
- Squeeze the garlic out of the skins before serving.
