One-Pan Lemon-Braised Chicken Thighs with Chickpeas and Fennel
By Christie MorrisonPublished on March 3, 2016
Time
1½ hours
Yield
Serves 4
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Only the skin side of the chicken is seared in step 2. Cooking the chicken to an internal temperature of 185 degrees renders the fat and melts the tough connective tissues into rich gelatin. Leave the core in the fennel so the wedges don’t fall apart. We prefer briny green olives like Manzanilla, Picholine, or Cerignola in this recipe; look for them in your grocery store’s salad bar section or in the pickle aisle.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Place 1/2 cup chickpeas in bowl and mash to coarse puree with potato masher; set aside. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in ovensafe 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook chicken, skin side down, until skin is crisped and well browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate, skin side up.
- Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from skillet, then heat fat left in skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add fennel, cut side down, and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, covered, until lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Add garlic, lemon zest, coriander, and pepper flakes and cook, uncovered, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in wine, scraping up any browned bits, and cook until almost evaporated, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in olives, broth, lemon juice, honey, mashed chickpeas, and remaining whole chickpeas and bring to simmer. Nestle chicken into liquid, keeping skin above surface. Transfer skillet to oven and bake, uncovered, until fennel is tender and chicken registers 185 degrees, 35 to 40 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with baguette slices.
Time
1½ hoursYield
Serves 4Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
For this quick-cooking braise, we first browned meaty bone-in chicken thighs to build a base of flavor. Next, we layered in aromatics like sweet fennel, garlic, lemon zest, and citrusy coriander to keep the flavor bright and complex. Chickpeas pull double duty here: whole chickpeas add heft to dish, while mashed chickpeas help thicken the sauce. To keep the chicken skin crispy, we nestled the browned chicken thighs on top of the aromatics and braised the mixture uncovered on the oven’s upper-middle rack. Keeping the skillet uncovered allows the sauce to reduce as the chicken braises, and placing the skillet on the upper rack takes advantage of reflected, top-down heat, ensuring crispy skin.
Before You Begin
Only the skin side of the chicken is seared in step 2. Cooking the chicken to an internal temperature of 185 degrees renders the fat and melts the tough connective tissues into rich gelatin. Leave the core in the fennel so the wedges don’t fall apart. We prefer briny green olives like Manzanilla, Picholine, or Cerignola in this recipe; look for them in your grocery store’s salad bar section or in the pickle aisle.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Place 1/2 cup chickpeas in bowl and mash to coarse puree with potato masher; set aside. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in ovensafe 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook chicken, skin side down, until skin is crisped and well browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate, skin side up.
- Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from skillet, then heat fat left in skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add fennel, cut side down, and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, covered, until lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Add garlic, lemon zest, coriander, and pepper flakes and cook, uncovered, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in wine, scraping up any browned bits, and cook until almost evaporated, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in olives, broth, lemon juice, honey, mashed chickpeas, and remaining whole chickpeas and bring to simmer. Nestle chicken into liquid, keeping skin above surface. Transfer skillet to oven and bake, uncovered, until fennel is tender and chicken registers 185 degrees, 35 to 40 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with baguette slices.
Gift This Recipe
Enjoyed this dish? Let others know by sharing it as a gift recipe.
Appears In
Keep Exploring
0 Comments