Sauces
This is going to make more aioli and salsa verde than you will need for this recipe but honestly? That’s a terrific thing. Make cold roast chicken sandwiches slathered in aioli and you’ll be in sandwich heaven. The salsa verde will keep for a good few days in the fridge and try it drizzled over roasted vegetables, or use it to zhuzh up some simple salmon or it’s absolutely delicious with steak.

For the Beans
I use really tender jarred beans that are truly delicious eaten straight from the jar. Taste your beans before you add them to the tomatoes, if they have a bit of bite to them, add a little more stock and bubble the whole thing together for 5 minutes or so to give the beans time to soften and soak up some of the flavour. Tasting as you go is the key, and that includes tasting your raw ingredients so you know what you’re working with.

Salsa verde
Chives and basil also work really well added into the mix. It can be made ahead of time and sits happily in the fridge, but just before serving, you can add a squeeze of lemon juice to bring it back to life a bit. Too much lemon early on can make the herbs go a bit dull in colour.

Aioli in a food processor
To make the aioli in a food processor, put the egg and garlic into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine. Pour the oil into a jug and, with the motor running, gently pour a thin stream of oil into the eggs as they blend. Check every so often until you have reached a desired consistency. You may need to add more oil, you may need to use less so see how you go and whatever you do, go nice and slowly. You are looking for a creamy consistency, you don’t want it too stiff. I actually quite like mine quite loose, so you just do what works for you. Once done to your liking, add lemon, season it and add the chopped tarragon. Or leave it out if you don’t like tarragon.

Notes on the Chicken
If your chicken thighs have a lot of skin, you won't need to add oil as enough fat is going to render out of the chicken skin.. However, if you have thighs that don’t have a lot of skin, ie. it’s not overhanging the actual chicken thigh itself, then drizzle a little olive oil onto the skin of the chicken before placing it skin side in the pan.

For this recipe, it is important not to overcrowd the pan so make sure you use a big enough pan, or work in batches.

Cooking time is going to vary from 7-9 minutes, depending on size.Normal sized thighs will be 9 minutes but if you have very small ones, it will be less.

Once you’ve finished cooking the chicken, you are going to have a lot of chicken fat left in the pan. There are many delicious things you can do with it. I recommend throwing in some cubed bread (I like sourdough) and make the most delicious croutons to use in salads. Or pour it into a jar, and store in the fridge and use to make very delicious roast potatoes.