Jamie Oliver Baked Chicken with Potato and Tomato

from: http://kalofagas.blogspot.com/2008/03/jamie-olivers-baked-chicken-thighs.html
I recently caught an episode of Jamie (Oliver) at Home and he did a show on potatoes. The dish that stood out for me was his baked chicken thighs with an array of tomatoes and squashed potatoes.
This dish looks very Greek, the ingredients are quite Greek but the approach...pure Jamie. I'm going to show you my take on this dish...shake up the ingredients a bit and relay a couple of worthy moves Jamie makes in this dish.
Jamie's prep involves three major steps: blanching a medley of heirloom tomatoes to remove the skins, boning and cutting the thighs into smaller pieces and boiling the potatoes before baking.
There are no local heirloom tomatoes(at this time) so I opted for sweet, cherry tomatoes. I boned and cut the thighs into smaller pieces but you may leave the thighs in tact. As for boiling the potatoes, this step is integral to the dish. The boiled potatoes get slightly squished before being place in the roasting pan with the remaining ingredients. This step no doubt is important for what will give you a dish with crispy roast potatoes that are flavoured by the juices of all the ingredients.

I've also made some changes to the herbs. I used dry oregano (Jamie uses fresh). Dry oregano is one of the few instances where it beats out the fresh variety. I also added some fresh rosemary into the mix...an apt addition to a dish of chicken and potatoes.

Jamie has a winner with this meal, there were no leftovers, it's easy to make and if you're Greek, Italian or you enjoy Mediterranean foods, this chicken's for you.

Jamie Oliver's Baked Chicken Thighs
(for 4)

2 trays of chicken thighs, skin on (about 8-10), boned and cut in half)
1 pint. ripe cherry tomatoes
6 medium sized potatoes, peeled
6 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
juice of 1/2 lemon

1. Bone your chicken thighs, cut into smaller pieces (I halved them), season them with salt and pepper and brown them in olive oil. Reserve in the roasting pan.
2. Boil your potatoes in salted water until cooked and then slightly squish each potato and add to the pan with the chicken.
3. Prick one end of your tomatoes and drop them in boiling water for a mere 45 seconds. Fish the tomatoes out of the water and place in another pot with cold water. Now gently pinch each tomato and the skins will easily come off. Discard the skins and add the tomatoes into the roasting pan.
4. Drizzle with oilve oil, add the garlic, lemon juice, oregano and rosemary and some additional salt and pepper.
5. Give the ingredients a gentle toss and place in a pre-heated 375F oven for 40 minutes.