Or rather, by me, courtesy of Nigella the hottie English chef. You know, this gal. She’s all about teaching you how to utilize butter and chicken in a variety of ways. And I was the recipient of her new book, Nigellisima, so I grabbed the most delicious looking chicken recipe I could find and went about gluten-free’ing it. Lucky for me, it was almost perfectly gluten-free as is. In addition to the “How to rock your bod over the age of 50” thing, Nigella’s Italian cookbook actually taught me another very valuable lesson:  I don’t need to be afraid of Italian food anymore!

I opened it up, skipped past the pasta dishes (although I could easily g-free those as well) and found a variety of main courses that do not utilize one little bit of the devil gluten. I’ve dined in Italian restaurants that are also friendly — or friendly enough — to the celiac, and I’m getting more and more at ease with re-embracing this ethnic food group. The only issue you may have with this gluten-free Italian tray bake is the sausage. Always look on the package, and probably pick it up from a health foods type store or Whole Foods where I was able to choose between three different gluten-free sausage options. I know! So. Much. Sausage.

One note on the recipe: Do not ignore Nigella’s instructions to use a shallow pan. She told me more than once (via instructions in the book, we’re not besties — yet) that the chicken will not brown as well if you use a deep pan, yet I did not listen. So my chicken could have been browner. Still, delicious! The Yukon gold potatoes are perfectly cooked, a little outside crunch and inside softness. The gluten-free Italian sausage added so much spice (maybe even too much), so maybe consider the mild, or sweet, Italian sausage option. But definitely consider making this all the time, as it is simple, delicious, and a crowd pleaser. Not as much of a crowd pleaser as Nigella’s décolletage, but still.

Gluten-Free Italian Tray Bake

adapted from Nigellisima

Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 60 minutes

Ingredients

3 large Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks
8 chicken thighs, bone in and skin on
8 Italian sausages
6-7 sprigs rosemary
Zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Ground pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees

2. Put the potatoes into a sheet pan or large, shallow roasting pan and add the chicken thighs and sausages.

3. Arrange 4 sprigs of rosemary among the chicken and sausages, then finely chop the needles of another two sprigs to give you 2 teaspoons of finely chopped rosemary, and sprinkle those on as well.

4. Zest the lemon over everything, and season with salt and pepper.

5. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 60 minutes, or until chicken skin and sausages are golden and potatoes pieces are cooked through. Let stand at least 5 minutes after cooking, and you can let it stand for up to 30 minutes before serving.

Makes: 6 servings