Chicken Thighs with Farro and Burst Tomatoes

Nutty farro and crispy chicken thighs pair perfectly with sweet and spicy roast tomatoes. So good, the tomato-hater in your house might even ask for seconds!

Are you ready to spice things up? For the next five days, I’ll be sharing some awesome new recipes that I created for the Tabasco 10 Ingredient Challenge. For the challenge, I was asked to create five recipes using just 10 ingredients: Tabasco Original red sauce, chicken, onion, multi/whole grains, canned beans, tomatoes, leafy greens, bacon, cheese, and dried fruit.

With such a limited selection of ingredients to work with, it was definitely a challenge to come up with ideas that weren’t all a variation on one theme, but I’m so, so, so excited about these recipes. They’re all pretty awesome!

I’m especially excited about this chicken and faro with burst tomatoes though… because not only did Shawn willingly eat the tomatoes, he actually asked for seconds! I never thought I’d see the day. (He totally wasn’t even going to try them either. I had to force him to try just one, like you would do with a little kid.)

Tossing the tomatoes with olive oil and Tobasco and roasting them until they burst makes them saucy, sweet, and just a touch spicy. The flavors get really concentrated so they’re pretty intense on their own, but they’re perfect with nutty farro and crispy roast chicken thighs.

Chicken Thighs with Farro and Burst Tomatoes

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

I buy 10-minute farro from Trader Joes, which is par-cooked. I love that it's done so quickly! If you choose to use regular farro, follow the directions as written but don't add the chicken back to the pan. Increase the baking time to 40 minutes, adding the chicken after 20. (When you add the chicken, pull out the tomatoes and cover them with foil to keep them warm.)

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Ingredients

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoons of Tabasco® Original Red Sauce
• 4 bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed

salt and pepper

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced (about 1/4 cup)
• 1 1/2 cups quick cooking farro
• 3 cups water
• 2 cups baby spinach

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 450ºF.
2. Add the tomatoes, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and 1 tablespoons of Tabasco to a small baking dish. Turn to coat. Roast 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat cast iron skillet (or similar oven safe pan). Place the chicken skin-side down into the skillet; cook 8 minutes or until the skin is golden brown and crisp. Remove from pan and set aside.
4. Add the onion to the pan and cook in the chicken drippings until just softened, 3-4 minutes. Add the farro and water. Return the chicken thighs to the pan, skin-side up.
5. Place the skillet into the oven next to the tomatoes; bake 20 minutes, or until the water has absorbed and the farro and chicken are cooked through. Stir in the spinach and tomatoes.
6. Serve with additional Tabasco to taste.

Disclosure: I received monetary compensation to develop recipes as part of the Tabasco 10-Ingredient Challenge.