Crispy Chicken With Fennel

Crispy Chicken with Fennel

Ingredients:

⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil, or as needed
2 bulbs fennel, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 whole (about 3-pound) chicken, cut up, or about 3 pounds drumsticks and thighs
Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish
Lemon wedges

Directions:

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Drizzle bottom of shallow roasting pan or baking sheet with about half the olive oil and cover it with a layer of the fennel. Overlap pieces if necessary but use whole pan. Drizzle remaining oil over fennel and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cut up chicken if necessary and sprinkle the pieces with salt and pepper.
Top fennel with the chicken parts, skin side up. Ideally, you'll have a layer of fennel pretty much covered by a layer of chicken, but it's fine if some of the fennel roasts uncovered. Spoon some of the oil from bottom of pan over chicken. If there is not enough, drizzle additional olive oil over the chicken. Roast about 15 minutes, then baste chicken with pan drippings and rotate the pan. If necessary, adjust oven temperature so chicken browns but does not burn.
The chicken will be done in about 30 minutes. Serve each piece with some fennel and a little of the pan juices spooned over, garnished with parsley and a lemon wedge.