Smoky Paprika Chicken Thighs with Roasted Peppers

Ingredients

• 8 bone-in chicken thighs, skin-on
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 3 tbsp garlic-infused olive oil
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 3 red peppers, deseeded, cut into strips
• 2 yellow peppers, deseeded, cut into strips
• 3 spring onions, green tops only, sliced
• 15g flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• salt and black pepper
• Crusty bread, to serve
• Dressed green salad, to serve

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C. In a small bowl, mix both paprikas, the cumin, garlic-infused oil and lemon juice into a loose paste. The oil here does double duty — it carries the spices and it blooms them as the tray hits the heat, so raw paprika never has a chance to taste dusty. Season the paste generously with salt and plenty of black pepper.
2. Tip the pepper strips into a large roasting tray and toss with half the spiced oil until every strip is glossy and properly coated. Spread them out in a single layer — crowd the tray and they'll steam pale and watery instead of catching and sweetening at the edges.
3. Pat the chicken thighs dry with kitchen paper — water means steam, and steam means no crisp skin. Rub them all over with the remaining spiced oil, working it under the skin where you can, and season the skin again with a pinch more salt. Lay the thighs skin-side up on top of the peppers with space between each one so the skin can render and crisp rather than poach.
4. Roast for 35–40 minutes, until the skin is deep amber and crackling, the juices run clear when you pierce the thickest part of a thigh against the bone, and the peppers underneath are slumped, jammy and catching at the edges. The spices will smell toasted and sweet around the 25-minute mark — that's the bloom doing its work.
5. Pull the tray out and rest the chicken for 5 minutes so the peppers drink up the smoky, paprika-stained juices pooling beneath them. Taste a strip of pepper and the resting juices — adjust salt now, not at the table.
6. Plate the thighs on a bed of the roasted peppers, spoon the tray juices over, scatter with the sliced spring onion tops and chopped parsley, and tuck lemon wedges alongside for squeezing. Serve with crusty bread to mop the tray and a dressed green salad on the side.