Chicken Castelvetrano
Food
Audio By Carbonatix
By Aimee McCullough, Editor in Chief
Chicken Castelvetrano
Servings: 4-6
8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 3 pounds)
Salt and black pepper
2 teaspoons dried oregano
Crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 lemons
1 cup pitted Castelvetrano or kalamata olives, smashed and roughly chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium shallot minced
2 cups long-grain white rice, rinsed—I use Jasmine rice
4 cups (32 ounces) chicken broth
¼ cup roughly chopped fresh parsley, for serving
A note on making this:
- Castelvetrano olives really bring a nice tang and depth of flavor to this dish. Kalamatas will work too, but I think it’s worth it to find Castelvetranos if you can. Just make sure they do not have pits!
Directions:
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Use paper towels to pat the chicken thighs until dry on all sides.
- Season the chicken with 1 teaspoon each salt, pepper and dried oregano and a pinch of crushed red pepper.
- Place a large Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat and add oil. Let oil heat up for a few minutes. Add thighs to the pot, Skin side down, and let cook undisturbed until they self-release from the bottom of the pot, about 5 minutes. Remove from the pot and set aside.
- Cut lemons into ¼-inch-thick slices. Add to the pot and cook until caramelized and softened, about 2 minutes. Remove from the pot and set aside.
- Add the olives, garlic, shallot and 1 teaspoon each salt, pepper and dried oregano to the pot. Cook over medium-low heat, scraping browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until garlic is fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the heat up to high, add the rice and broth to the pot, stir to combine and cover until it comes to a boil, about 5 minutes.
- Remove the pot from heat, add the browned chicken thighs on top of the rice, skin side up, then cover the chicken thighs with the lemon slices.
- Place the pot, covered, into the oven and bake until the rice and chicken are fully cooked, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve topped with fresh parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice.
