Herb Crusted Chicken with Creamy Lacinato Kale

Ingredients:

1 Chicken Leg Quarter Bone in.
4 stocks of Lacinato Kale
1/3 c Heavy Cream
2 Tbsp Parmesan Che
2 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp Vegetable oil
1/4 tsp dried Rosemary
1/4 tsp dried Oregano
1/4 tsp dried Parsley
1/4 tsp dried Thyme
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1/4 tsp Red Pepper flakes
S&P to taste

Let me first explain Lacinato Kale.  You might see it as Dinosaur Kale or Tuscan Kale, and if you cannot find it, normal Kale, or any hearty leafy green will work just fine.  I prefer Lacinato to normal Curly Kale because it is a bit less bitter.  either way, you want to end up with about a cup of the final product.

Prep:

Preheat your oven to 350°F 

Combine dried herbs, garlic, and onion powder in a spice grinder and grind to a fine powder. if you don't have one, a mortar and pestle, or even in you hands will work just fine, you will just need to use a little more elbow grease.

Once ground, liberally coat the chicken on both sides, with the rub and S&P.

Like this.

In a cast iron or stainless steel pan, add 1 Tbsp of Butter and 1 Tbsp Vegetable oil, and bring to just a slight smoke, add the chicken skin side down and sear 4-5 min, or until the skin is crispy. at this point you want to flip it over, and sear the other side for another 4-5 min. once nicely seared, put the chicken into your preheated oven and roast until the internal temp is 155°F.(68°C). Carryover cooking will continue to raise the internal temp to 165°F(74°C) that is the safe temp for poultry.

Place on the middle rack for even circulation of heat.

 
While the chicken is roasting, take your kale and remove the leaves from the stems.  Some greens you want to keep the ribs on, but with kale they are too fibrous to eat.  Once you have them removed, chiffonade the kale and set aside.

Make sure to put a damp cloth under your board to prevent slipping.

In a saute pan add the 1Tbsp of butter, and once melted add your kale, Salt, and Red Pepper flakes.  I like it spicy so I use more than 1/4 tsp, you can also omit them all together if you do not like spicy food.  Once the greens are sweated down, add the heavy cream and continue to cook until the kale is tender.  To speed the process up a bit you can blanch your kale ahead of time, but shredded this fine it shouldn't be necessary. Once the cream is reduced add the parm and continue to stir, the parm should thicken the cream up nicely, and turn it from a sauce to a side dish, either way you can reduce the cream to your desired thickness, I like mine thick.

Mac and cheese?? Ha please

Remove the chicken from the oven once it reaches the safe temp, and let it rest for 5 min. Optional (and delicious) take a pat of butter and place it on the chicken as its resting.  When the butter melts it will infuse with the herbs and chicken fat to give a great sheen to the crispy skin.

G.B.A.D. as Alton Brown would say.

 Once plated pour the now melted butter over the chicken.  and enjoy.

Finished

Not something I would eat every day. But dang tasty.