SCHMALTZ ROASTED VEGETABLES

One of the most comforting meals to make this time of year is roast chicken with winter vegetables. I've been mastering the art of perfect cast-iron chicken thighs and I think I've got it down. But sometimes all I’m craving is the side of vegetables that comes with the chicken, flavored decadently by its fat. So I save the drippings from my chicken for just these occasions. I was looking up recipes for cooking in chicken fat and found this one from Food & Wine that pairs the delightfully rich vegetables with a simple gremolata. In my version I skipped the carrots and cauliflower and used sweet potatoes instead, and subbed shallots for the red onions. I also used my cast-iron skillet instead of a sheet pan. The recipe should work with whatever winter vegetables you're craving or are in season locally.

I'll note that traditional schmaltz, or rendered chicken fat, is made on its own with pieces of chicken fat, chicken skin and onion cooked down at a medium low heat, but the fat leftover from my chicken thighs worked perfectly well. Whichever way you come by your shmaltz, you can store it in a container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

SCHMALTZ ROASTED VEGETABLES

Preheat your oven to 425 and get to work on prepping your vegetables.

Chop up your sweet potato. Then your shallots or red onion. For shallots, simply slice in half. 

I left my brussels sprouts whole because they were small, but if they're larger you can cut them in half or quarters. I also peeled whole cloves of garlic to really mix in with my potatoes, but you can leave it unpeeled and simply chop a whole head of garlic in half if you prefer.

Get your pan going over medium-low heat and scoop a big spoonful of chicken fat (about 3 tbsp) into the pan. 

Beautiful, gorgeous schmaltz.  

Let that melt and toss your vegetables in. You may want to work in batches; the most important thing is to evenly coat the vegetables with the fat.

Combine all the vegetables back into the pan or onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Now you're ready to roast. Bake for 35-45 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare your gremolata. 

GREMOLATA 

Chop up a bunch of parsely, enough to give you a packed cup.

Grate a teaspoon of lemon zest and juice half of the lemon. Mince a clove of garlic and combine with the parsely and lemon in a bowl. Add 1/2 a cup of extra-virgin olive oil.

Season with salt and pepper and you're done! Now just sit back and wait for the vegetables to finish roasting. 

Serve the vegetables with generous scoops of the gremolata and enjoy! 

Thanks to  Melissa and Jasmine Hemsley for this recipe!