Autumn has arrived in Seattle, and with it a shift in the garden and a craving for warm, simple meals. Japanese maple leaves that were once deep green now glow with copper-red edges and golden highlights. To greet the season, I prepared a comforting dinner of roasted chicken and polenta inspired by Amy McCoy’s cookbook Poor Girl Gourmet: Eat in Style on a Bare-Bones Budget. Her Roasted Chicken Legs with Olives is a perfect example of how straightforward ingredients and uncomplicated techniques can produce a satisfying, memorable dinner.
The oven filled the house with the mouthwatering aroma of roasting chicken—an instant sign that family dinner was near. The legs were seasoned simply with kosher salt, freshly ground pepper, and thyme. This dish reinforced a basic truth I often mention: sometimes salt and pepper are all you need to make food truly hearty and honest. The Castelvetrano olives elevated the dish. If you haven’t tried this olive variety, you’ll notice their mild, buttery flavor and distinct texture. They paired beautifully with the chicken, adding a subtle briny richness without overpowering the meat. The roasted olives themselves were a highlight—softened, flavorful, and almost irresistible.
This recipe is quick to prepare and an excellent way to welcome cooler weather. It’s economical, approachable for home cooks of any level, and makes an impressive family meal with minimal fuss. Below I’ve included Amy McCoy’s original recipe as reprinted with permission, so you can recreate this simple roasted chicken with olives at home.
Reprinted exactly as written with permission from Amy McCoy & Andrews McMeel Publishing
Roasted Chicken Legs with Olives
{Easily serves 4 – costs $5-$10}
Ingredients:
4 chicken legs (about 3/4 pound each)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon dried thyme, or 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 pound good-quality olives, such as Kalamata or Castelvetrano, unpitted
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. In a large baking dish or lasagna pan, arrange the chicken legs in a single layer, skin side up. Lightly coat the skin with the olive oil—use a basting brush or your hands. Sprinkle the legs with thyme, and season generously with salt and pepper.
3. Scatter the olives around the chicken, giving each olive some room. A few may nestle in the folds of the legs, and that’s fine, but try to keep most olives on their own so they can bathe in the chicken’s juices as they roast.
4. Roast until the skin is crispy and the juices run clear when pierced, about 55 minutes to 1 hour. Serve each person a leg and roughly one-quarter of the olives. Remind diners that the olives are unpitted so everyone can take care while eating.
Each recipe in Amy’s book includes an estimated cost to prepare the dish. Below are her sidebar notes for this recipe:
The chicken legs should cost no more than $1.49 per pound. Rounding up, estimate $4.50 for four legs. At $6.99 per pound, 1/4 pound of olives will be about $1.75. Olive oil adds roughly $0.24, and thyme about $0.18. If jarred olives are used instead of fresh specialty olives, plan to use about half a jar; at $3.59 per jar, this raises the cost by about $0.30.
Later this week I will publish a more detailed review of Amy McCoy’s cookbook and offer a chance for three readers to win a copy. For now, enjoy this straightforward roasted chicken with olives—an easy, flavorful meal that celebrates the best of seasonal, budget-friendly cooking.