Golden Chicken Thighs with Tiny Tomato Salad and Anchovy Creme Fraiche

my favourite way to cook crispy chicken thighs this Summer

Aug 17, 2025

∙ Paid

Crispy chicken thighs are a large part of my personality and this is my current favourite way to have them. Gorgeous served with crispy potatoes (or any kind) or some creamy mash but really during the Summer I just love this with a big bowl of salad or some steamed greens.

I need to tell you about the best bit of this dish: the Anchovy Creme Fraiche. My goodness is it good. I use it here as a sauce, but it’s equally as delicious as a dressing for salads, slathered into sandwiches or used as a dip for crudité. It’s so simple to make but I can’t tell you how good it is. It’s Caesar dressing adjacent and it works so well here with the hot crispy chicken and the delicate sweetness from the tomatoes.

This is a great one for a weeknight as it’s so simple and the oven does most of the hard work. But also if you’ve got friends coming over, serve them this. It’s got all the home comforts of a classic roast chicken but it’s just a little bit different and everyone loves it.

Tomatoes are amazing at the moment and so we must take full advantage. I sometimes go the extra step and peel my tomatoes which takes no time at all and really can make all the difference. Simply score the tomatoes with a cross and then pop into a bowl with boiling hot water. Leave them submerged for 30 seconds until the skin peels off extremely easily. A good trick for taking ‘okay’ tomatoes and making them sublime.

So without further ado, let’s get into today’s recipe.

The full recipe is below for paid subscribers (along with a handy PDF version). You also get access to helpful notes on the recipe in case you want to make it vegetarian friendly, or you’re feeding more people and want to scale up easily. Perhaps you’re feeding the whole family? It’s all covered in The Notes.