Roast chicken has to be one of my favorite poultry dishes. However, for a weeknight dinner roasting a whole bird may be a little too time consuming. That’s one of the reasons why I use Dave Lieberman’s recipe “Dad’s Roast Chicken My Way.” Lieberman somehow disappeared from the Food Network, but his easygoing approach to cooking was a welcome alternative to some of the network’s more flamboyant stars.

Over the years, I’ve tweaked this recipe adding a little ground cumin to the seasoning, upping the amount of herbs, and sprinkling the skin with some paprika for added color. But my major change is substituting skin-on, bone-in thighs for the chicken pieces. In my opinion, thighs are the tastiest parts of the chicken.

I like to serve this dish with roasted broccoli.

Also, take the time to make the olive oil drizzle. Just a little adds a lot of flavor to the chicken, especially if you don’t enjoy eating the skin.

Dad’s Roast Chicken My Way Adapted from The Food Network

Ingredients
For the chicken:
1 (3 1/2-pound) chicken cut in 8 serving pieces (I use thighs.)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Ground cumin
5 sprigs fresh rosemary
5 sprigs fresh thyme
Olive oil, for drizzling
Zest of 1 lemon
Paprika

For the parsley drizzle:
1/2 bunch parsley
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degree F.

Trim off any excess skin or fat from the chicken. Cut off and discard the wing tips. Place the chicken pieces in an 11 by 13-inch baking pan lined with foil, or any pan that that they fit in without crowding.

Season the chicken pieces generously with salt, pepper, cumin olive oil, the herbs, and the lemon zest. Toss through all the seasonings and then arrange the chicken piece skin side up in the pan. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature. (You can season the chicken pieces and set them up in the roaster up to a day before you cook them. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate.)

Roast until the skin is nicely browned and there is no pink near the thigh bone and the juices run clear, about 35 to 40 minutes. Check both white meat and dark meat. If the white meat is done before the dark meat, take it out and set it on the serving plate until the dark meat is done.

For the parsley drizzle, wash and dry the parsley. Remove the leaves from the stems and chop the leaves finely. Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl and use immediately to garnish the roast chicken.

Wine Pairing: Chablis, un-oaked Chardonnay, Pinot Noir