This is one of my favorite weeknight meals. It’s a fairly easy French cafe style dinner of roasted chicken with frites and a little red wine infused gravy to round everything out. My daughter loves chicken legs and fries, so this meal is always a win for her.
Ingredients
4-6 chicken leg quarters
Herbes de Provence
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil / vegetable oil (see recipe)
3-4 large russet potatoes
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1 cup chicken stock
¼ cup red wine (such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, or a Bordeaux)
Chopped parsley to garnish
4-6 chicken leg quarters
Herbes de Provence
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil / vegetable oil (see recipe)
3-4 large russet potatoes
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1 cup chicken stock
¼ cup red wine (such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, or a Bordeaux)
Chopped parsley to garnish
Preheat an oven to 400 degrees. Trim any excess skin or fat from the leg quarters, if necessary. Brush both sides of the leg quarters with olive oil, and thoroughly season with salt, pepper, and Herbes de Provence. Arrange the chicken leg quarters on a rack in a roasting pan and place in the oven to roast for 40 minutes or until an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
While the chicken is roasting cut the potatoes into frites (french fries), either using a fry cutter or by hand. If cutting by hand, cut a ¼ inch piece off of the potato so it will rest flat on the cutting board and then cut the potato ¼ inch pieces. Cut each piece into ¼ inch strips.
The frites can be cooked either by air frying or deep frying in vegetable oil. To air fry, toss the frites in a bowl with salt and a tablespoon of olive oil, coating the frites as evenly as possible. Lay the frites in a single layer in the air fryer basket/try without touching. Air fry at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, flipping the frites halfway through. Cook the frites in batches. To fry in oil on the stovetop, add about 2 cups of vegetable oil to a pot over medium heat (about 325 degrees Fahrenheit). Once ready, for best texture you want to double fry the frites. First, fry the frites in batches for about 5 minutes until blanched but not fully golden. Remove each batch and drain on paper towels and cool to room temperature. Then, fry again Im batches for about 2-3 minutes until golden. Drain each batch on paper towels again and season with salt.
Back to the chicken! When the chicken is done, remove from the oven and set aside to rest while you make the gravy. In a pot on the stove, over low-medium heat, melt the butter. Once melted, add the flour and stir with a whisk or spatula until fully incorporated into the butter. Allow the flour to cook for about 2 minutes. Now that you have your roux, slowly add in the chicken stock, whisking/stirring as your pour to incorporate the roux. Add in any dripping from the roasting pan along with a splash or two of the wine. (You want the gravy to be a little red in color but not deep red. You can add up to the full ¼ cup if needed, but usually a splash or two of the wine does the trick for color and flavor.) Allow the gravy to cook and thicken for a few minutes.
To serve, place a chicken leg quarter on a plate and top with gravy. Add a pile of frites to the plate. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. I recommend serving with some salad greens tossed with red wine vinaigrette.