Somewhere along the way, Monday became chicken thigh night at our house. I love cooking but I’m not a fan of thinking about what to cook (or grocery shopping). So weekdays are somewhat routine in terms of what meat we eat.

What keeps this dinner from getting dull is the herb garden. The marinade changes every week. I have a big herb garden just steps away from the kitchen door and I’m constantly adding new herbs.  Two years ago it was tarragon. This year it was pineapple sage, lemon thyme and thai basil.

Here’s the method, and the marinades we like (so far).

The Base Method

Serves 2, with leftovers for lunch

• 8–9 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• One marinade (below)
• Vegetables for roasting alongside (again whatever is in the garden in summer)

Steps:

1. Whisk the marinade together in a large bowl. Add the thighs and turn them to coat. Cover and refrigerate for about 2 hours — I usually do this around 4 o’clock for a 6 pm dinner
2. Preheat the oven to 425°F convection mode.
3. Parboil or steam any potatoes or carrots you may want to add to the sheet pan until al dente as they take longer to cook than the chicken
4. Spread the thighs on a sheet pan in a single layer, leaving a space between them so they roast rather than steam. Add vegetables around them if you’re roasting them together. Don’t crowd the pan if you want browning.
5. Roast 20–30 minutes, until the thighs are cooked through and the edges have started to caramelize. If you have a lot of space and no vegetables, it will take only 20 minutes. The more on the sheet pan, the longer you need.
6. Toss your vegetables through the drippings before serving.

The Marinades

Each of these makes enough for 8–9 thighs.

Lemon Thyme

I grew lemon thyme for the first time this year and was surprised at how much we liked it. I has a genuine lemon note behind it. The variegated leaves are also pretty enough to use as a garnish.

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp lemon thyme leaves
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp black pepper

Pineapple Sage and Orange

Another new herb this year was pineapple sage. Rub a fresh leaf between your fingers and you can smell pineapple, it’s not subtle. The flavour is citrusy not so much like sage. I was also surprised at how large it grew, becoming a 3 foot round shrub by the end of the season.

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh pineapple sage, chopped
• Zest of 1 orange
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1–2 tsp honey
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp black pepper

How I serve it: I marinate cauliflower wedges in this same seasoning alongside the chicken and roast them on the same pan along with some orange slices. The slices caramelize at the edges and make nice plating.

Tarragon

Tarragon and mustard belong together, and the whole grain mustard gives the thighs a bit of texture on top and makes a thicker marinade.

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped
• 1 tbsp whole grain mustard
• Zest of ½ lemon
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp black pepper

Greek

This can be adapted to fresh or dried herbs.

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh oregano (or 2 tsp dried)
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley — skip if you don’t have it fresh
• ½ tbsp fresh rosemary — skip if you don’t have it fresh
• Zest of ½ lemon
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp black pepper

I’m not a fan of dried parsley and dried rosemary. Parsley loses everything in the drying and rosemary turns to little needles that never soften. Leave them out and focus on the oregano and garlic in winter.

Sage

The simplest of the marinades. Just sage, lemon, oil, salt.

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp kosher salt

How I serve it: with brown butter sage gnocchi:

1. Cook the gnocchi according to the package and drain well.
2. In a skillet, brown 2 tbsp butter until it smells nutty and the milk solids go golden. Pour it into a bowl and set aside.
3. Add a healthy amount of olive oil to the same pan along with more chopped sage.
4. Add the gnocchi and let them brown, 3–4 minutes, without stirring too much, just flipping once or twice.
5. Pour the brown butter back in, toss, and finish with grated Parmesan.

The gnocchi and the chicken hit the table at the same time and there’s sage in both.

Next Ones To Try

I get a lot of flavour combination ideas to adapt from AI. On my list but haven’t tried yet:

Chimichurri

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh oregano · 1 tbsp red wine vinegar · 3 garlic cloves, minced · ½ tsp chili flakes · 1 tsp kosher salt · ½ tsp pepper

Double the herbs and hold half back raw, then spoon it over the finished pan. Good with roasted peppers and red onion.

Dill and yogurt

Lower heat to 375F so the dill does not burn

• ⅓ cup plain full-fat yogurt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves
• zest and juice of ½ lemon
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp pepper

Serve with green beans and new potatoes from the garden.

Mint, cumin and honey

Lower heat to 375F so the mint does not burn

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp honey
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp pepper

Try with carrots and chickpeas.

Rosemary, orange and fennel

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• zest of 1 orange
• 2 tbsp orange juice
• 1 tsp fennel seed, crushed
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp pepper

Try with fennel wedges and red onion.

Summer savory and white wine

I didn’t grow summer savory this year, so I’ll add this back to the rotation next year.

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh summer savory
• 1 tbsp white wine or white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp Dijon
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp pepper

Serve with green beans.