Greek chicken from the oven

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 large chicken, approx. 1.6 kg, or 8 to 12 chicken drumsticks
• 500 g potatoes, small
• 3 bulbs of garlic
• 10 small shallots
• 3 tomatoes, cut into pieces
• 2 lemons
• 1 liter chicken broth
• 3 sprigs rosemary
• 10 sage leaves
• 1 sprig(s) lemon thyme
• 1 chili pepper(s), finely chopped, or chili oil
• 1 red bell pepper(s) per person, cut into quarters
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 15 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 45 minutes

Preheat the oven to high, approximately 250°C (480°F), or 230°C (450°F) for a convection oven. Chop the chicken into pieces, or use only drumsticks. Season the pieces generously with salt and pepper. Place them in a bowl and squeeze in the juice of one lemon. Place the washed, unpeeled potatoes, the shallots, and the garlic cloves into a large roasting pan or a large, deep baking dish. Remove the outer skin from the cloves only, as otherwise they might dissolve too much. (Don’t be afraid of the garlic; it will end up with a lot of flavor and not much smell.) Scatter the chopped tomatoes over the chicken. Place the chicken pieces on top of and among the remaining ingredients, skin-side up. Tuck in the rosemary, lemon thyme, and sage. Drizzle generously with chili oil or good olive oil, after sprinkling a finely chopped chili pepper over the top. Pour about half a liter of chicken stock over the chicken and place the roasting pan or baking dish in the oven for about 25 minutes. During this time, the skin will brown nicely. After 25 minutes, reduce the temperature to 170 degrees Celsius (150 degrees Celsius for fan-assisted cooking) and add a little more stock. Then roast for another 70-90 minutes, adding a little more stock now and then if necessary. About 45 minutes before the end of the cooking time, place the roughly chopped bell peppers on top, skin-side up. A real treat is squeezing out the garlic cloves, cooked in their skins, tossing them with the potatoes and bell peppers, and eating them with bread and tzatziki. You’ll almost forget about the chicken, which tastes just as delicious.