Chicken in Lemon Artichoke Sauce

This is another refugee from the NYT Cooking site. I am going to try to sneak a small breast into the mix to suite one of my diners and I made some additional tweaks. I love artichokes

 

 

 

Ingredients:

2 large lemons
1 1/2 cups artichoke hearts, quartered ( you can use fresh but there is more prep work than I am willing to do.
6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 2 pounds total)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, plus more to garnish
½ teaspoon saffron
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ½ cups chicken broth, plus more if needed
Kosher salt or Salt substitute (I like Kirkland) and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

  1. Cut 1 lemon in half then squeeze the juice into a bowl; add the spent lemon halves to the bowl, too. Add the artichoke hearts to the lemon juice, stir and set aside.
  2. Pat chicken dry, then season all over with salt (or substitute) and pepper. In a large skillet, warm the olive oil over medium-high heat, then add the chicken, skin-side down. Cook, undisturbed until well browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Flip and brown the other side, ~ 5 minutes. Transfer chicken thighs to a plate and reserve about 3 tablespoons of fat in the pan.
  3. Return the skillet to medium heat and add the onion, garlic, parsley and saffron. Season with salt (or substitute) and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, ~ 5 minutes. Sprinkle the cinnamon over the onion, then stir to combine.
  4. De glaze using the broth, scraping the bottom and bring to a simmer over medium-high. Return the chicken to the pan, nestling it into the pan skin-side up. Arrange the artichokes between the chicken pieces, cover, and simmer over medium-low until the chicken is cooked through(~ 20 to 25 minutes). Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate.
  5. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook until the sauce is thickened and the artichokes slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the juice from half the remaining lemon from the artichoke bowl, taste, and adjust with salt (or Substitute) and more lemon juice as needed.
  6. Spoon artichokes and pan sauces over the chicken, sprinkle with parsley to garnish, and serve.