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Baked Chicken Legs with Tomato Salad

The chicken is seasoned simply, but when it's paired with the fresh salsa-like tomato salad, your taste buds will dance.
Servings: 4
Author: Chef Julie Yoon

Ingredients

For the chicken legs:

  • 8 chicken legs
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt divided, plus more for sprinkling
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper divided
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil divided

For the tomato salad:

  • ½ of a medium sweet onion diced small
  • 3-4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 jalapeño seeded ribs removed, and finely chopped
  • 1 lemon squeezed (use only ½ at first & use the other half if needed)
  • 1 whole yellow bell pepper seeded and diced
  • 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro (optional)
  • 4-5 firm ripe vine ripened tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt or more to taste.
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano.
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

  • Place legs on a parchment or aluminum foil lined baking sheet. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of salt divided evenly over each of the legs. Rub salt in by hand on all sides. Place in fridge for at least 2 hours, or even overnight.
  • Move on to your tomato salad. Add the diced onion, minced garlic, and finely chopped jalapeno to a large bowl. Squeeze half of the lemon over it to neutralize the raw spiciness. If you like the heat of raw onions and garlic, skip this step and add lemon juice at the end for seasoning only.
  • Add the diced yellow pepper to the bowl. Chop the cilantro, and add it to the bowl. Add the chopped tomatoes to the bowl. Sprinkle with the salt and dried oregano. Drizzle with olive oil. Mix well and let sit for at least 10 minutes. Taste and add more salt if needed. Also, squeeze the other half of the lemon on top if so desired. Mix well. The mixture will start to get “soupy” and create a sauce, which will be great when poured over rice.
  • Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Pop the chicken into the oven for 15 minutes to give the chicken skin a chance to brown and crisp up on its own. Pull it out of oven and drizzle olive oil over all legs evenly. Sprinkle with the black pepper and a little extra kosher salt. Pop it back into the oven for 30-45 minutes or until browned and fully cooked through.
TIP: Keep any extra tomato salad in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. Eat it with rice, pork, chicken, beef, or fish. Even try it inside of a grilled cheese sandwich! Yum!