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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Spoon artichokes and pan sauces over the chicken, sprinkle with parsley to garnish, and serve.