Tuscan Style Chicken Thighs With Lemon Olives And Capers Recipes

CHICKEN WITH OLIVES & CAPERS

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 400°F, with a rack in the middle position. 2. Place the chicken skin side up in a baking dish. Scatter the lemon wedges, olives, and capers on top of the chicken. 3. Pour the lemon juice and olive oil over the chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper. 4. Bake until golden, basting with the juices once, for 25 to 30 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh reads 165°F. Serve. Text credit: Excerpted from SWEET PAUL EAT & MAKE, © 2014 by Paul Lowe Einlyng. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved. Photo credit: © Alexandra Grablewski.

SAUTéED CHICKEN WITH OLIVES, CAPERS AND LEMONS

Steps:

• Bring a medium-large, high sided skillet to medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add half of the lemon slices and sear until browned, 3-5 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate. Season the chicken thighs with kosher salt and black pepper and dust with rice flour, shaking off the excess. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil to the hot pan and sear the chicken pieces until golden brown, about 5 minutes each side. Transfer to another plate and finish searing the rest of the chicken pieces, then transfer to the same plate as the rest of the chicken.
• Add the rest of the olive oil to the pan and the minced garlic, and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant, stirring so the garlic doesn't burn and become bitter. Add the green olives, capers and broth. Add the reserved chicken and any juices that have been released plus the reserved lemons and their juices and cook over high heat until the broth is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the butter and parsley and cook for another minute. Season with more kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Transfer to plates and spoon the olives, capers, lemons and sauce on top.
• Serve with sautéed spinach, kale or swiss chard on the side.

TUSCAN LEMON CHICKEN

Steps:

• Sprinkle the chicken with 1 teaspoon salt on each side. Combine the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, rosemary, and 2 teaspoons pepper in a small measuring cup. Place the chicken in a ceramic or glass dish just large enough to hold it flat. Pour the lemon marinade over the chicken, turning it in the dish. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Turn the chicken 2 or 3 times while marinating.
• When ready to grill, prepare a hot charcoal fire on 1 side of a grill (or turn a gas grill on low heat). Spread 1/4 of the coals across the other side of the grill. Place the chicken on the cooler side, skin side up, and weigh it down with the dish you used for marinating. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until the underside is golden brown. Turn the chicken skin side down, weight again with the dish, and cook for another 12 to 15 minutes, until the skin is golden brown and the chicken is cooked through. Place the lemon halves on the cool side of the grill, cut side down for the last 10 minutes of cooking. Remove the chicken to a plate or cutting board, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Cut in quarters, sprinkle with salt, and serve with the grilled lemon halves.

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH LEMON AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towels. Season well with salt and pepper and place in an earthenware baking dish in one layer, skin side up. Sprinkle with red pepper, garlic, fennel and rosemary and drizzle with olive oil. Rub seasoning into thighs on all sides. Tuck lemon wedges here and there. Let marinate for 15 minutes. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
• Put baking dish in oven, uncovered, and roast until skin browns lightly, about 20 minutes. Scatter olives evenly over chicken and add broth. Cover tightly and bake for 1 hour, until meat is very tender when probed with a skewer.
• Remove thighs and lemon wedges and arrange on a platter. Keep warm. Pour pan juices into a saucepan and quickly skim fat from surface. Over high heat, simmer rapidly until reduced by half. Spoon juices over chicken, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

CHICKEN THIGHS WITH TOMATOES, OLIVES AND CAPERS

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large skillet. Add chicken; cook 4 minutes on each side. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.
• Add garlic to pan and sauté 30 seconds. Add remaining ingredients; scrape pan to loosen brown bits.
• Return chicken and accumulated juices to pan. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes or until chicken is done.

CRISPY CHICKEN THIGHS WITH PEPPERS, CAPERS AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Start the chicken: Pat chicken dry and place in a large bowl. Season well with salt and pepper. Add garlic, rosemary, red-pepper flakes, lemon zest and juice. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and toss the thighs to coat, using hands to smear the mixture evenly over the chicken. Let marinate for 1 hour at room temperature, or, if time permits, overnight in the refrigerator.
• Make the peppers: Put 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, wide skillet with a lid over medium-high heat. When oil begins to look wavy, add onions and stir to coat. When the onions begin to soften (don't let them brown), add peppers and stir to combine. Season well with salt and pepper, and add garlic and red-pepper flakes. Stir to incorporate and reduce heat to medium. Cover, leaving the lid ajar.
• Cook mixture for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until completely soft. Add olives, vinegar and capers, and cook for a few minutes more, just to meld the flavors. Taste and adjust seasoning. Sprinkle with oregano. Set aside. Serve warm or at room temperature.
• Cook the chicken: Place a large cast iron or heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat. Add remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil. When oil is wavy, add chicken thighs, skin-side down. Shake the pan to make sure the chicken isn't sticking.
• Lower the heat to medium. Place a piece of parchment or aluminum foil on top of chicken and set another skillet on top. Add some weight - a brick or canned goods, for example - to the top skillet. Set heat to low and cook for 20 minutes, checking occasionally to be sure chicken isn't sticking, until the skin side is beautifully browned.
• Turn thighs over and cook for 10 minutes more, until thighs are cooked through. (To test, pierce the chicken with a paring knife. The juices should run clear.) If you wish, turn the thighs skin-side down again and let crisp for a few more minutes.
• Serve 1 thigh and a large spoonful of stewed peppers to each guest. Leftover peppers, if any remain, will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

TUSCAN STYLE CHICKEN THIGHS WITH LEMON, OLIVES AND CAPERS

Steps:

• Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to a large oven proof skillet (cast iron works great) and heat to high temp. Place the lemons, cut side down, and sear them until they are crispy and have developed a nice char, remove and set aside on a plate to be used later.
• Dredge the thighs in a bowl full of flour seasoned with salt and pepper, and fry skin side down over high heat until the skin is crispy and browned, then turn over and do same to other side. Do in batches, and you may need to add more oil. Transfer to a plate.
• Clean out any burned flour from the pan, add another tablespoon or two of oil, add the pickled garlic and fresh garlic and cook over medium heat until just slightly browned, but don't burn them.
• Add the olives, capers, broth and wine to the pan, bring to a boil and scrape up any fond in the bottom of the pan.
• Add the chicken skin side up by placing ON TOP of the olives and capers, trying to keep the skin out of the liquid so it stays crispy. Tuck the lemon halves around the chicken pieces, cut side up. Add the butter and sprinkle a few more olives around the chicken pieces and place in a 350 degree oven for about one hour or until thighs are completely cooked.
• Serve in the pan it was cooked in by sprinkling the chopped parsley over the top of the chicken and spooning the sauce over the thighs.