This is my go to dish for impressing a guest without working too hard. It shows you know how to cook, most everyone will like it, and because you can do so much ahead of time you don't need to worry about standing over the stove when your lover walks in. You can be carefree and casual! "Oh this beautiful crispy skin lemony garlicky chicken? It was no trouble at all!" Cook it all in one pan and serve it right out of there. Voila: rustic, chic, tasty.
Ingredients:
4 chicken thighs
1-2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
2 lemons
2 small shallots
3-5 cloves garlic
1/2 cup white wine
2 tbsp capers
A handful of fresh herbs (I used parsley and dill)
salt and pepper
Method:
1. Prepare your ingredients: finely chop the shallots, garlic, and herbs. Juice one lemon and slice the other lemon into rounds.
2. Pat the chicken thighs with a paper towel and season both sides with salt and pepper. Rinsing chicken is a myth and only gets gross chicken stuff all over your sink.
3. In a large sauce pan that can comfortably fit all your chicken pieces without them touching, heat up the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the chicken skin side down.
4. Cook the chicken about 8 minutes, flip, then cook for another 8 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a plate with a cover or in an off oven. Your chicken will not be fully cooked, that is okay!
Everything up until this point can be done ahead of time!
6. Reduce heat to low and add butter, shallots, and garlic to the chicken fat that is left over in the pan. Once the shallots begin to soften, add the white wine, capers, lemon juice, and lemon rounds. Simmer down some of the liquid, about 5 minutes.
7. Add the chicken (and any liquid from the plate they were sitting on), skin side up, stirring and spooning some of the liquid onto and around the chicken. Cook over medium low heat for 10 - 12 minutes. Finish with fresh herbs. And don't be afraid of eating the lemon rinds in the pan!
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