Baked chicken with desert sage

Baked chicken with desert sage

Ingredients

6 free range chicken thighs with bone
2 T extra virgin olive oil or to taste
2 tsp dried desert sage*, finely rubbed or crumbled
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano or 1/2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
chopped garlic to taste
salt and pepper

Method

Set the oven to 200 C/400 F and line or spray a baking dish. Crumble the dried herbs together, and garlic if using, and rub into the chicken. Drizzle, brush, or spray with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake in dish for 25 - 35 minutes or until cooked to 75 C/165 F internally. Serve.

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*Desert sage Q&A
Q. Is desert sage safe to eat?
A. Yep. Note that we're talking about the salvia species (in particular s. dorrii) not, not, NOT sagebrush. Sagebrush is an artemisia - i.e. it's closely related to wormwood. It has its own uses, mainly household and medicinal, and they are not the same as sage. As with all wild plants, know what you're doing before you collect it.

Q. But would I want to?
A. IDK. I like it. If you like other camphorous herbs and if you like garden sage, then give it a try.

Q. Camphorous herbs?
A. Such as bay, rosemary, Mexican oregano, lavender.

Q. Okay great, where can I get it?
A. Ahhhhh my house? The Great Basin or Mojave deserts? I have never seen this for sale as a culinary herb anywhere, and only rarely as a garden plant (and once, the dried cut plant, along with white sage and cedar, probably for ritual purposes.) I collect it in extreme southern Nevada or nearby parts of California.