With a crispy top hiding a layer of jammy, tomato-y noodles, this one-skillet meal is anything but one-note. There's flavor at every stage. After you've rendered the fat from the chicken thighs, you'll use that schmaltz to sauté the fideos (that's Spanish for “noodles”). This technique not only gives the pieces of thin, broken pasta a nutty taste, but it also crisps them up so that they're able to withstand the heat of the oven and absorb the slow-cooked onion, garlic, and tomato paste mixture (a.k.a. your soffritto). The not-so-secret secret ingredient is the anchovies: You won't be able to pick them out of the crowd, but if you skip them, you'll miss the salt and umami.
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What you’ll need
Measuring Spoons
$10 At Bon Appétit Market
Measuring Cups
$28 At Bon Appétit Market
Paper Towels
$13.45 At Amazon
Spoon
$24.69 At Amazon
Small Bowl
$15 At Amazon
Cast Iron Skillet
$30 At Amazon
Box Grater
$12 At Amazon
Chef's Knife
$34.53 At Amazon
Cutting Board
$10 At IKEA
Rubber Spatula
$13 At Amazon
Recipe information
Yield
4–6 servings
Ingredients
2½
¼
2
6
8
2
6
4
¼
1
1
⅓
Preparation
Step 1
Place a rack in top third of oven; preheat to 375°. Pat chicken dry. Combine 2 tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. hot smoked paprika in a small bowl. Sprinkle all over chicken thighs.
Step 2
Pour ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil into a large (12") skillet. (Either stainless steel or cast iron will work here!) Arrange chicken skin side down in oil. Turn heat to medium and cook, undisturbed, until chicken has rendered some fat and skin is golden brown, 10–12 minutes. Remove from heat and return to plate skin side up, leaving all that schmaltzy fat in skillet.
Step 3
While chicken sears, break 8 oz. thin spaghetti into a bowl into ½"–1" pieces. Using your hands, scrunch broken pasta in bowl to further break it up. Peel and grate 2 onions on the large holes of a box grater. Peel and grate 6 garlic cloves on the small holes of grater. Run your knife through grated onion and garlic a couple of times to make sure no big pieces remain.
Step 4
Add broken pasta to skillet and toss to coat in fat; season with ½ tsp. salt. Cook over medium heat, tossing constantly, until golden brown, 2–3 minutes. Cut the heat, tilt skillet away from you so the fat pools at one end, then use a slotted spoon to scoop out toasted pasta and transfer back to bowl, leaving as much fat in pan as possible.
Step 5
Return skillet to medium-low heat, add onion, garlic, 4 oil-packed anchovy fillets, ¼ cup tomato paste, and 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil to skillet and cook, breaking up anchovies and stirring often, until completely softened, jammy, dark red, and fat has broken out of the mixture, 13–15 minutes. Reduce heat if the veg are browning too quickly and be sure to take your time—the soffrito is what provides the fideos with depth and richness.
Step 6
Meanwhile, strip leaves off stems from 1 bunch Tuscan kale; discard stems. Rinse kale (no need to dry). Coarsely tear leaves. Crush ⅓ cup Castelvetrano olives, pry out their pits, and tear in half. Cut 1 lemon in half and set aside.
Step 7
Add remaining 1 Tbsp. hot smoked paprika and cook, stirring frequently, until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Squeeze in juice of ½ lemon, scraping up any darkened bits on bottom of pan. Add 2 cups water, increase heat to medium-high, and bring to a simmer. Add kale and cook, tossing occasionally, until wilted, about 2 minutes.
Step 8
Stir in olives and toasted pasta, along with any fat still clinging to bowl. Stir to combine, season with salt, and spread in an even layer. Arrange chicken on top (skin side up), pressing gently to tuck into pasta while leaving skin exposed. (Night, night chickadee!) If needed, add just enough water to barely reach top of pasta, leaving the tops sticking out. Drizzle remaining 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil over pasta and chicken.
Step 9
Transfer skillet to oven and bake until chicken is cooked through, pasta has absorbed the cooking liquid, and top and edges have developed some crunchy bits, about 25 minutes. (You’ll see some fat sizzling on top of the skillet, that’s perfect.)
Step 10
Let rest 15 minutes. Divide chicken and fideos among plates. Cut remaining lemon into wedges and serve alongside.
How would you rate Fideos With Chicken Thighs and Kale?
Leave a Review
Reviews (28)
Back to TopI appreciate the reviewer who mentioned shrimp, because when I took my chicken out to make this dish I found it had gone bad. So I made the dish largely as written, substituting shrimp and using olive oil to take the place of the missing Schmaltz. I still want to try the original recipe, but my last minute rescue was delicious.
Anonymous
Silver spring, MD
6/7/2024
This is delicious, and worth the time it takes to fiddle through the steps. Don't rush the sofrito! I like to add a pinch of saffron when I add the liquid, and separately steam some mussels in dry sherry to dump over the pan before I take it to the table. Fantástico!
Strong Eagle
2/26/2024
Forget the chicken. Just nestled in a couple pounds of shrimp, raw before the baking. The greens were excellent. The shrimp sat with the same seasoning of olive oil, the paprika, and salt as described in the recipe for the chicken. Came out delicious.
A cook from Buffalo
Buffalo, NY
1/17/2024
This is such an exceptional dish. It's a fun dinner to make if you want to relax into cooking- lot of chopping and grating and breaking but in a thouroughly enjoyable was, although I will say that grating to onions to pulp is nobody's idea of a good time. I use 12 oz of pasta instead of 8 and adjust the water accordingly, and with 4 thighs it makes healthy portions for two for two nights. I think the extra pasta and water help balance the oil-factor. I will probs be making this periodically for the rest of my life.
Jessamin
Raleigh, NC
1/30/2021
Srsly? What is ‘basic’ about this recipe? Half way through, you start to wonder if you’ll ever get to eat. This long slog leaves a massive oil slick and tsumami of onion juice in its wake. And the pointless, intrusive text+video interface is useful to nobody except maybe first-time cooks whose experience stops at the microwave and who require video instruction to know how to stir. Cancel.
Anonymous
11/9/2020
Loved this recipe. was definitely working with what i got, so skinless chicken and no anchovies, but a great weeknight dinner!
leatubes
LOS ANGELES
5/27/2020
I followed the recipe exactly without the anchovies or olives and it was still outstanding - will make again. The only modification I had was that I caramelized the tomatoes and onions for much longer, maybe 30-40 minutes. I loved the crispy fideo tops and soft stew-y bottom. Very rich and bold in flavor!
Anonymous
07021
4/4/2020